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3   1822  01368   1853 


THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •     CHICAGO  •    DALLAS 
ATLANTA.   •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON    ■    BOMBAY    •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Lm 
TORONTO 


THE    CHURCH    IN    AMERICA 

A  Study  of 

The  Present  Condition  and  Future  Prospects 

of  American  Protestantism 


BY 

WILLIAM  ADAMS  BROWN,  Ph.D.,D.D.   I«^^ 

Chairman    of    the    Committee    on    the    War    and    the    Religious 

Outlook,    Secretary   of   the   General    War-Time   Commission 

of  the  Churches,  Author  of  Christian  Theology  in  Outline 


iRfto  gorfc 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1922 


All  rights  reserved 


FEINTED  IN   THE  UNITED   STATES   OF  AMERICA 


Copyright,  1922, 

By  the  macmillan  company. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  July,  1922. 


Press  of 
J.  Little  &  Ives  Company 
New  York,  U.  S.  A. 


TO  ALL  WHO  HAVE  WON 

FROM    yesterday's    EXPERIENCE 

THE  HOPE   OF  A  BETTER  TO-MORROW 


PREFACE 

This  book  expresses  certain  convictions  concerning  the  oppor- 
tunity and  duty  of  the  American  Protestant  churches  which  sum  up 
the  experience  and  reflection  of  many  years. 

The  immediate  occasion  for  the  book  was  furnished  by  my  ex- 
perience as  Secretary  of  the  General  War-Time  Commission  of  the 
Churches  and  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Re- 
ligious Outlook.  The  former  was  the  organization  through  which 
the  different  Protestant  denominations  co-operated  during  the  war. 
In  this  commission  no  less  than  thirty-nine  different  bodies  were 
represented,  including  communions  as  different  as  the  Episcopalians 
and  the  Southern  Baptists.  As  secretary  of  this  Commission  I  was 
not  only  brought  into  intimate  association  with  many  leaders  of 
the  larger  Protestant  communions  as  well  as  with  representative 
Roman  Catholics  and  Jews,  but  was  obliged  for  the  first  time  to 
make  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  tasks  and  problems  which  con- 
front the  Church  as  a  whole. 

The  need  which  the  war  disclosed  of  a  thoroughgoing  co-opera- 
tive study  of  these  tasks  and  problems  led  to  the  organization,  in 
1918,  of  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook. 
This  is  a  group  of  men  and  women,  some  thirty  in  number,  who  have 
spent  the  last  four  years  in  a  co-operative  study  of  such  fundamen- 
tal subjects  as  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  industry,  the  missionary 
outlook  in  the  light  of  the  war,  the  teaching  work  of  the  Church, 
and  the  problems  and  possibilities  of  Christian  unity.  One  of  the 
motives  which  has  led  me  to  undertake  this  book  has  been  the 
desire  to  bring  the  work  of  this  committee  to  the  attention  of  a 
wider  public,  and  to  enlist  tiioughtful  Christians  of  all  the  churches 
in  the  kind  of  inquiry  it  seeks  to  promote. 

But  my  interest  in  the  subject  to  be  discussed  is  of  older  date. 
As  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  and  for  many  years  Chairman  of  the 
Home  Missions  Committee  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  I  ha^'e 


viii  PREFACE 

had  the  opportunity  to  study  at  first  hand  the  ways  in  which 
the  new  influences  and  demands  of  the  modem  world  are  affecting 
the  missionary  policy  of  the  churches.  In  particular,  my  work  as 
Chairman  of  the  Home  Missions  Committee  has  brought  me  into 
touch  with  the  race  problem  as  it  meets  us  among  our  immigrants 
of  foreign  speech,  with  the  industrial  problem  as  it  confronts  us  in 
labor  and  radical  circles,  and,  above  all,  with  the  problem  of  Chris- 
tion  co-operation  as  illustrated  in  the  missionary  work  of  an  im- 
portant denomination  in  our  largest  and  most  difficult  home  mission 
field. 

This  study  of  home  mission  problems  has  been  supplemented  by 
repeated  visits  to  the  foreign  field,  most  recently  in  1916  by  a  trip 
to  China  and  Japan  as  Union  Seminary  lecturer  in  the  Far  East, 
where  in  conferences  with  representative  missionary  groups  I  had 
the  privilege  of  comparing  the  problems  which  face  the  Church  at 
home  with  those  which  confront  the  Church  abroad. 

These  contacts  at  home  and  abroad  have  helped  me  to  appre- 
ciate how  impossible  it  is  for  any  one  denomination  to  solve  its 
problems  alone,  and  have  interested  me  keenly  in  the  various  at- 
tempts that  are  being  made  to  realize  Christian  unity.  Some  of 
these  attempts  I  have  had  the  opportunity  to  study  in  practical 
ways:  in  the  local  field  as  Chairman  of  the  New  York  City  Mis- 
sions Council;  in  the  national  field  as  a  member  of  the  Adminis- 
trative Committee  of  the  Federal  Council  and  Chairman  of  its 
Commission  on  Christian  Education. 

As  a  result,  I  have  come  to  hold  with  growing  conviction  the 
thesis  to  which  this  book  is  devoted;  namely,  that  it  is  vital  to  the 
future  success  of  American  Protestantism  that  we  re-think  our 
theory  of  the  Church. 

When  I  say  that  we  ought  to  re-think  our  theory  of  the  Church 
I  do  not  mean  that  we  should  continue  our  discussion  of  church 
unity  in  the  abstract.  I  mean  something  far  more  important  and 
more  difficult;  namely,  that  we  should  make  a  serious  attempt  to 
determine  what  should  be  the  function  of  the  Church  in  our  demo- 
cratic society  and  to  come  to  a  definite  understanding  as  to  the 
ways  in  which  the  existing  churches  can  best  co-operate  in  seeing 
that  this  function  is  adequately  discharged.  I  mean  that  we  should 
interpret  to  those  who  are  actually  participating  in  the  everyday 
work  of  the  churches  the  real  meaning  and  ultimate  purpose  of 
what  they  are  doing,  so  that  they  shall  see  their  familiar  tasks  and 


PREFACE  IX 

occupations  in  their  larger  setting  as  necessary  parts  of  the  work  of 
the  Church  as  a  whole. 

Such  an  interpretation  of  present-day  Christianity  is  needed  be- 
cause of  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  environment 
in  which  the  Church  must  work.  The  modern  Church  must  follow 
the  individual  through  his  varying  experiences  in  the  world  of 
to-day.  It  must  face  the  social  issues  of  our  time  as  they  meet 
us  in  the  struggles  of  capital  and  labor,  in  the  strife  of  race  with 
race,  in  the  rivalry  of  nation  with  nation,  and  be  able  to  show  that 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  has  a  remedy  and  a  programme  adequate  for 
all  forms  of  human  need.  We  are  trying  an  experiment  which  will 
have  a  far-reaching  effect  upon  the  future  of  democracy,  an  ex- 
periment which  will  show  whether  it  is  possible  to  supply  the  uni- 
fying spiritual  influence  needed  in  a  democracy  by  means  of  a 
strong,  coherent,  free  Church,  and  so  make  possible  under  the  con- 
ditions of  our  modern  life  the  coming  of  the  new  social  order  called 
by  our  Maker  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

It  remains  to  express  my  acknowledgments  to  the  friends  who 
have  helped  me  in  the  preparation  of  this  book.  To  name  them  all 
would  be  impossible,  but  a  word  must  be  said  of  what  I  owe  to  my 
fellow-workers  in  the  Federal  Council,  the  General  War-Time 
Commission  of  the  Churches,  and  the  Committee  on  the  War  and 
the  Religious  Outlook.  If  in  spite  of  many  superficial  reasons  for 
discouragement  I  still  retain  an  abiding  faith  in  the  promise  and 
possibilities  of  American  Protestantism,  it  is  no  small  part  because 
of  what  I  have  learned  of  these  possibilities  through  my  association 
with  them. 

In  particular  I  wish  to  express  my  indebtedness  to  my  friend, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  McCrea  Cavert,  my  assistant  in  the  General  War- 
Time  Commission,  and  now  General  Secretary  of  the  Federal 
Council,  who  has  read  the  whole  manuscript  in  proof  and  given  me 
many  helpful  suggestions.  To  Dr.  Alfred  Williams  Anthony,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Home  Missions  Council,  Dr.  Robert  L.  Kelly,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Education,  and  my  col- 
leagues. Professors  Daniel  J.  Fleming  and  Hugh  Hartshorne,  of 
the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  who  have  read  parts  of  the  manu- 
script, I  desire  also  to  express  my  thanks. 

It  had  been  my  hope  to  add  to  the  text  a  classified  bibliography ; 
but  the  range  of  interests  covered  is  so  wide  that  I  have  reluctantly 
been  obliged  to  abandon  this  plan.    References  to  some  of  the  most 


X  PREFACE 

convenient  sources  of  information  have  been  given  in  the  notes.  For 
help  in  assembling  the  material  available  in  print  I  am  indebted  to 
Miss  Hudson,  Reference  Librarian  of  the  Union  Theological  Semi- 
nary. But  much  of  the  information  on  which  I  have  relied  has 
been  secured  through  correspondence  of  which  no  detailed  acknowl- 
edgment is  possible. 

As  I  reflect  how  imperfect  is  my  knowledge  of  many  of  the 
subjects  on  which  I  have  written  I  am  tempted  still  further  to 
postpone  the  publication  of  my  book.  But  since  any  study  of  con- 
temporary life  must  needs  be  provisional,  I  am  content  to  send  it  out 
as  it  is,  asking  only  that  it  be  taken  for  no  more  than  it  professes 
to  be,  a  report  of  progress  and  a  confession  of  faith. 

WILLIAM  ADAMS  BROWN. 

Union  Theological  Seminaby, 
June,  1922. 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 


PAoa 


CHAPTER 

I.  The  Question  of  Democracy  to  the  Church  of  To-day       ...        3 

1.  The    New    Interest    in    Organized    Religion,    and    the    Reasons 

for    it 3 

2.  The  Differing  Estimates  of  the  Function  of  the  American  Church        5 

3.  Purpose   and   Scope    of   the   Present   Study "i 

PART   I  -^ 

FACING  THE  FACTS 

II.  The  Reugion   of  the   Average   American 15 

1.  Opportunity  Afforded  by  the  Army  for  the  Study  of  the  Religion 

of  American  Young  Men 15 

2.  What  Young  America  Thinks  about  God  and  Religion   ...       17 

3.  Need  of  Supplementing  This  by  a  Study  of  the  Attitude  of  the 

Older  Generation 23 

4.  What  American  Womanhood  is  Likely  to  Contribute  to  the  Reli- 

gion of  the  Future 27 

5.  Changing  Conditions  Affecting  the  Religion  of  American  Children      31 


III.  Emerging  Problems 34 

1.  New  Elements  Affecting  the   Religious  Situation— The  Shifting 

of  Population — Immigration  and  the   Negro 34 

2.  The  Effect  of  Modern  Industry— The  Growth  of  Class  Conscious- 

ness     3' 

3.  Resulting   Changes   in   the    Church's   Missionary   Task    ...       40 

4.  Emerging  Problems — The  Problems  of  Race,  of  Class,  and  of 

Nationality  ^ 

IV.  The  Wider  Outlook ^^ 

1.  Chief   Points    of    Contact    between    American    Christianity    and 

International  Problems 46 

2.  Foreign  Missions,  a  Factor  in  Educating  America  for  Internation- 

alism        4S 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

3.  Suffering  as  a  Teacher  of  International   Brotherhood  and  Re- 

sponsibility        54 

4.  The  Church  and  the  League  of  Nations 57 


PART  II  ^ 

WHERE  TO  BEGIN 

V.  Where  the  War  Found  the  Chxjrch 63 

1.  The  American  Church,  an  Experiment  in  Democracy  ....      63 

2.  Strength  of  the  American  Church  in  Numbers  and  Resources — 

Distribution  of  this  Strength  Among  the  Denominations  .     .      65 

3.  Outstanding  Characteristics   of  the  American   Church — Its  Pro- 

vincialism   and   Individualism — Influence    of    the    Denomina- 
tional Spirit 72 

4.  The  Relation  of  the  American  Church  to  the  State — Similarities 

and  Differences  in  Organization  and  Spirit 76 

5.  Significant  Denominational  Types 81 

6.  Factors  Making  for  a  Larger  and  More  Catholic  Christianity  .      87 

VI.  What  the  Church  Learned  in  the  War 92 

1.  Differing  Estimates  of  the  War  Work  of  the  Church  ....      92 

2.  Success  of  the  Church  in  Caring  for  the  Soldiers  and  in  Keeping 

up  the  Morale  of  the  Nation 94 

3.  Failure  of  the  Church  Adequately  to  Uphold  the  Ideal  of  Inter- 

national Brotherhood  and  the  Reasons  for  it 97 

4.  What   the   War  Taught  the   Church   Concerning   the   Need   of 

Effective   Agencies  of  Unity 101 

5.  The  Organization  and  Work  of  the  General  War-Time  Commis- 

sion— Principles  Controlling  the  Work  of  the  Commission   .     103 

6.  The  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook  .     .     .     HI 

VII.  Where  the  War  Left  the  Church 114 

1.  The  Situation  in  Which  the  War  Left  the  Church 114 

2.  The  Interchurch  World  Movement  as  the  Attempt  to  Express 

the  Church's  Post-War  Ideals  in  Action — The  Reasons  for  its 
Failure 115 

3.  Dangers  to  be  Guarded  Against:   (a)  an  Unreasonable  Condem- 

nation of  the  Denominational  Spirit;    (b)   the  Abandonment 

of  the  Co-operative  Ideal 123 

4.  The  Present  Condition  and  Prospects  of  the  Protestant  Ministry    127 


CONTENTS  xiii 


PART  III 

DEFINING  THE  IDEAL 

CHAPTER  TAOK 

VIII.  The  Old  Reugion  in  the  New  Intellectual  Envieonmbnt     .     137 

1.  Principles  which  Determine  Our  Ideal  for  the  Church  ....     137 

2.  Effect    of    the    Scientific    Movement    upon    the    Ideals    of    the 

Older  Protestantism 140 

3.  Negative  Results — Disillusionment  Resulting  from  the  Discovery 

of  the  Limitations  of  Pure  Science — Different  Effects  of  This 
upon  Different  Groups 144 

4.  Positive  Results — The  Contribution  of  the  Scientific  Movement 

to  Religious  Faith 147 

5.  Consequences  for  the  Church  as  a  Teaching  Body 150 

IX.  The  Church  and  the  New  Social  Order 153 

1.  The    Church's   Stake    in   the    New   Social    Order 153 

2.  Principles  which  Determine  the  Nature  and  Limit  of  the  Church's 

Social  Responsibility 156 

3.  Illustration  of  these  Principles  in  the  Relation  of  the  Church 

to  Industry 163 

4.  Need  of  a  Similar  Application  to  the   Questions   of  Race  and 

of  Nationality 167 

5.  Consequences  for  the  Social  Mission  of  the  Church   ....     169 

X.  The  Church  as  Spiritual  SoaETY  and  as  Ecclesustical  Institution    173 

1.  Possible  Attitudes  Toward  the  Divisions   of  Christendom — The 

Movement  for  Church  Unity  and  the  Questions  of  Principle 

it    Raises 173 

2.  Different  Views  of  the  Significance  of  the  Church  as  an  Institution    178 

3.  Different  Views   of  the   Limits  of  Legitimate  Variation  within 

the  Church 182 

4.  Inferences  as  to  the  Future  Organization  of  the  Church  Derived 

from  a  Study  of  Present  Tendencies 186 

6.  Principles  which  Condition  Future  Progress 189 

PART   IV 

ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 

XI.  The  Church  in  the  Community 195 

1.    The  Fundamental  Importance  of  the  Local  Church  for  the  For- 
ward Movement  in  Christianity 195 


xiv  CONTENTS 

OHAPTBR  ^^*'* 

2.  The  Expanding  Work  of  the  Local  Church— The  Country  Church 

as  Community  Centre— The  Institutional  Church— The  Mother 
Church  with  Affiliated  Churches 200 

3.  The  Movement  for  the  Community  Church — Its  Present  Status 

and  Possible  Lines  of  Future  Development— The  Three  Forms 

of  the  Community  Church 205 

4.  The  Federation  of  Churches— Its  History  and  Present  Status- 

Larger  Aspects  of  the  Federation  Movement 213 

■  5.  Consequences  for  the  Work  of  the  Minister— Need  of  a  Recon- 
sideration of  the  Function  and  Responsibilities  of  the  Protestant 
Ministry 220 

XII.  The  Church  SPBaAuziNG  for  Service 224 

1.  The  Need  of  Specialization  in  Christian  Work— The  Survey  as 

a  Condition  of  Effective  Specialization 224 

2.  Resulting    Changes    in    Organization— The    Department    a^    an 

Agency  of  Specialized  Service — Other  Forms  of  Specialization 

at  Home  and  Abroad— The  Resulting  Need  of  Unity  ...    227 

3.  Agencies    for    Interdenominational    Administrative    Unity — The 

Home  Missions  Council  and  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference 
— Corresponding  Agencies  in  the  Field  of  Christian  Educa- 
tion     235 

4.  Voluntary   Agencies   for   Specialized   Service— The   History   and 

Expanding  Work  of  the  Christian  Associations — Problems 
Confronting   the   Associations  To-day 242 

XIII.  The  Churches  Getting  Together 249 

1.  Obstacles  to  Christian  Unity  Presented  by  the  Existing  Situation 

in  the  Denominations 249 

2.  The  Movement  for  the  Reunion  of  Denominational  Families — 

Its  difficulties,  Practical  and  Theoretical 255 

3.  Organic  and  Federal  Unity— Reasons  why  We  Must  Begin  with 

the  Latter— The  Federal  Council,  an  Agency  of  Nation-wide 
Christian  Co-operation 258 

4.  The  Larger  Aspects  of  the  Unity  Movement^The  Relation  of 

the  Protestant  Churches  to  Other  Bodies,  Religious  and  Non- 
religious — Possible  Ways  of  Securing  International  Co-opera- 
tion  between   the    Churches 269 


PART  V  ^ 

TRAINING  FOR  TO-MORROW 
XIV.    The  Church  as  a  School  of  Reugion 279 

1.  The  Revival  of  Interest  in  Religious  Education— Its  Connection 
with  the  General  Educational  Movement — Aspects  of  the 
Church's  Educational  Task 279 


CONTENTS  XV 

CHAPTER  PAOl 

2.  Winning  Recruits— The  Teacher  as  Evangelist— The  Social  Gospel 

as  Material  for  a  New  Educational  Evangelism 283 

3.  The  Church's  Responsibility  for   Educating   Its  Own   Members 

— Special  Importance  of  this  in  Protestantism — What  Chris- 
tians Need  to  Know  about  Christianity 287 

4.  The  Church's  Responsibility  for  Forming  Public  Opinion  in  Mat- 

ters Bearing  upon  the  Christian  Ideal 295 

XV.  Finding  and  Training  Leaders 302 

1.  The  Problem  of  Educational  Leadership  in  Protestantism — Fields 

in  which  Religious  Leadership  is  Needed — The  Church's  Re- 
sponsibility for  Finding  and  Training  Constructive  Thinkers 
in  the   Field   of  Religion 302 

2.  Agencies  Available  for  the  Higher  Religious  Education  of  Lay- 

men—The Responsibility  of  Our  Colleges  and  Universities 
.  for  the  Teaching  of  Religion 308 

3.  Recent      Developments      in      Ministerial      Education — Training 

for  other  Forms  of  Specialized  Service— The  Church's  Respon- 
sibility for  Trainging  Its  Workers  in  the  Field 317 

XVI.  Thinking  Together 327 

1.  The  Christian  Way  of  Dealing  with  Difference— The  Church  as 

a  Training  School  in  Co-operative  Thinking 327 

2.  What  it  Means  to  Think  Together— Fields  in  which  Co-operative 

Thinking  is  Needed  in  the  Church 332 

3.  Wanted:   an  Organ  for  Collective  Thinking  for  the  Church  as 

a  Whole 339 


CONCLUSION 

XVII.    The    Contribution    of   the   Church   to   the   Democracy    of 

the  Future 349 

L  The  Spiritual  Significance  of  Organization  as  a  Challenge  to 
Christian  Citizenship  and  Churchmanship — Need  of  an  Inter- 
national  Organization   to  Unify   Democracy 349 

2.  The  Contribution  of  the  American  Church  to  the  Larger  Demo- 
cratic Experiment 353 


i^ 


INTRODUCTION 
DEMOCRACY  AND  THE  CHURCH 


THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

CHAPTER  I 

DEMOCRACY  AND  THE  CHURCH 

1.  The  New  Interest  in  Organized  Religion  and  the  Reasons  for  It 

In  the  chapters  that  follow  I  propose  to  inquire  what  American 
Protestantism  is  likely  to  contribute  to  the  most  significant  experi- 
ment being  tried  in  the  world  to-day,  the  experiment  which  is  to 
determine  whether  democracy  will  be  able  to  furnish  on  a  world- 
wide scale  the  integrating  influence  which  will  make  it  possible  to 
realize  unity  under  free  institutions. 

One  of  the  most  significant  signs  of  the  time  is  the  new  interest 
in  organized  Christianity.^  By  this  it  is  not  meant  that  we  are 
experiencing  what  is  technically  called  a  revival  of  religion,  or  even 
that  there  has  been  any  considerable  accession  to  the  membership 
of  the  Christian  Church.  We  refer  to  the  renewed  interest  in  the 
Church  as  a  structural  element  in  human  society.  Men  are  coming 
to  realize  that  in  the  Church  we  possess  a  social  asset  with  as  yet 
undeveloped,  not  to  say  unappreciated,  possibilities — an  asset  which 
has  value  not  simply  for  the  men  and  women  who  belong  to  its  own 
membership  and  are  responsible  for  the  direction  of  its  policy,  but 
for  all  of  whatever  calling  who  love  their  kind  and  take  thought  for 
the  welfare  of  society. 

The  war,  which  in  so  many  ways  has  shaken  us  out  of  our  easy 
satisfaction  with  things  as  they  are,  is  responsible  for  this  revived 
interest  in  the  Church.  We  have  been  cataloguing  our  assets, 
spiritual  as  well  as  material,  and  asking  ourselves  how  far  they  are 

^It  is  worth  noting  that  during  the  last  year,  since  this  book  was  begun, 
no  less  than  four  different  books  have  appeared,  dealing  with  various  phases 
of  our  subject:  Leighton  Parks,  "The  Crisis  of  the  Churches,"  New  York, 
1922;  John  Haynes  Holmes,  "Old  Churches  for  New,"  New  York,  1922; 
Charles  A.  Ellwood,  "The  Reconstruction  of  Religion,"  New  York,  1922; 
Charles  R.  Brown,  "The  Honor  of  the  Church,"  Boston,  1922. 

3 


4  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

adequate  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  day.  Most  of  all  is  this  true  of 
our  institutions— the  family,  the  school,  the  state,  our  economic  and 
industrial  systems.  If  the  war  has  taught  us  anything  it  is  this, 
that  face  to  face  with  the  strain  of  modern  life  the  individual  alone 
counts  for  little.  Modern  war,  as  we  have  been  reminded  again  and 
again,  is  not  an  affair  of  armies,  but  of  peoples  and  of  civilizations. 
And  the  same  is  true  of  the  less  dramatic,  but  no  less  momentous, 
competitions  of  peace.  The  great  word  of  our  day  is  organization, 
and  the  test  of  the  civilization  of  the  future  will  be  the  fitness  of  its 
institutions  to  respond  to  the  demands  which  will  be  made  upon 

them. 

It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  we  should  find  men  turning  with 
fresh  interest  to  the  Christian  Church.  Here  is  an  institution  which 
has  lasted  nearly  two  thousand  years,  whose  constituency  embraces 
nearly  a  third  of  the  human  race,  which  professes  to  be  the  teacher 
of  Europe  and  America  in  morals  and  religion,  and  which  is  carry- 
ing on  an  active  missionary  propaganda  among  the  more  distant 
peoples  who  were  drawn  against  their  will  into  the  maelstrom  of  the 
Great  War.  It  is  an  institution  which  commands  vast  financial 
resources,  disposes  of  an  annual  revenue  mounting  into  the  hundreds 
pf  millions,  numbers  its  paid  ministers  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands 
and  its  voluntary  workers  by  the  million,  receives  state  support  in 
a  country  like  England  where  the  tradition  of  the  state  church  still 
obtains,  yet  is  no  less  generously  sustained  in  a  democratic  country 
like  America  where  the  voluntary  gifts  of  the  faithful  replace  the 
taxes  of  the  citizens.  It  is  an  institution  which  touches  life  at  each 
of  its  great  crises — birth,  marriage,  sickness,  and  death — which  is 
entrusted  with  the  moral  education  of  childhood  during  its  forma- 
tive period,  which  maintains  in  its  pulpit  a  forum  for  the  weekly 
discussion  of  questions  of  morals  and  religion,  which  has  been,  and 
still  is,  the  spring  of  private  charity  on  an  unprecedented  scale.  In 
spite  of  all  its  faults,  the  Church  is  the  one  social  institution  touch- 
ing men  of  all  races  and  nations  and  callings  which  exists  to  spread 
faith  in  a  good  God  and  to  unite  men  in  a  world-wide  brotherhood. 
Here  surely  is  a  factor  with  which  any  one  must  reckon  who,  faced 
by  the  unexampled  tragedy  of  our  own  time,  asks  with  soberness 
where  men  are  to  turn  for  help  in  the  stupendous  task  of  world 
reconstruction. 

It  is  the  more  natural  that  men's  thoughts  should  turn  to  the 


DEMOCRACY  AND  THE  CHURCH  0 

Church  in  such  a  crisis  because  present  issues  bring  them  face  to 
face  with  the  unseen  realities  with  which  religion  has  always  been 
concerned.  These  issues,  ostensibly  political  and  economic,  are  in 
essence  spiritual.  They  have  to  do  with  the  conflict  of  ideals. 
Though  the  weapons  may  be  tariffs  and  armaments,  the  real  con- 
testants are  philosophies  and  loyalties.  New  faiths  challenge  the 
old;  old  standards  are  called  in  question. 

This  change,  everywhere  in  evidence,  is  most  striking  in  demo- 
cratic countries.  Here  the  greater  power  given  to  the  people,  and 
the  higher  standard  of  living  which  they  demand,  puts  added  strain 
upon  the  government.  Nowhere  is  there  more  need  of  some  unify- 
ing and  steadying  influence  in  the  realm  of  the  spirit.  And  such  a 
unifying  influence,  as  we  are  coming  to  see  more  clearly  every  day, 
can  proceed  only  from  religion.  It  is  pertinent,  therefore,  to  inquire 
whether  the  Church  can  supply  the  element  of  self-control  and  con- 
secration which  will  make  a  free  people  willing  to  undergo  the 
sacrifices  which  are  necessary  to  a  just  and  stable  peace. 

It  is  a  world-wide  question.  It  is  being  asked  in  Europe  and  in 
the  Orient  as  well  as  in  this  country.  It  affects  all  branches  of  the 
Church— Greek  and  Roman  Catholic  as  well  as  Protestant.  Bishop 
Nicholai  ^  has  recently  brought  before  us  in  impressive  manner  the 
bankruptcy  of  Europe's  statesmanship  and  the  need  of  some  new 
organizing  principle  to  unite  men  of  good  will  in  every  land  in  a 
constructive  and  inspiring  programme.  Archbishop  Soderblom  -  has 
been  appealing  for  a  world-wide  conference  of  the  churches  to  heal 
the  spiritual  ravages  of  war  and  to  create  an  organization  which 
will  make  future  wars  impossible.  But  it  is  in  this  country  espe- 
cially that  the  responsibility  of  the  Church  appears.  For  in  no 
other  is  the  Church  itself  to  so  large  an  extent  the  creation  of  the 
democratic  spirit  and  the  expression  of  democratic  ideals.  If, 
therefore,  the  Church  has  a  service  to  render  to  democracy  any- 
where, the  nature  of  that  service  ought  to  appear  most  clearly  here. 

2.  The  Differing  Estimates  of  the  Function  of  the  American  Church. 
For  every  reason,  therefore,  the  place  which  the  Church  occupies 
in  America  in  the  popular  estimation  and  the  views  which  are 
generally  held  of  its  function  should  be  peculiarly  significant. 

^Bishop  of  Ochrida,  in  Serbia. 

*  Archbishop  of  Upsala,  in  Sweden. 


6  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

That  the  Church  has  still  a  strong  hold  upon  public  sentiment 
and  respect  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt.  Although  complaints  are 
made  of  the  slight  influence  exercised  by  the  ministry  as  a  profes- 
sion, of  the  failure  of  the  ministry  to  appeal  to  the  best  of  our 
young  men  as  a  life  work,  of  the  lowering  of  professional  standards 
in  the  ministry,  and  of  the  divisions  and  competition  among  the  de- 
nominations, we  still  continue  to  find  men  in  every  walk  of  life  who, 
having  found  nowhere  else  the  moral  leadership  which  the  hour 
demands,  turn  with  hope  to  religion  and  to  the  Church  as  the  in- 
stitution of  religion.  This  appeal  to  the  Church  comes  from  the 
most  varied  groups — from  editors,  from  men  holding  public  office, 
from  military  commanders,  from  leaders  of  political  parties,  most 
recently  from  men  of  business. 

But  for  the  most  part  the  appeal  is  made  blindly,  and  few 
have  more  than  a  vague  conception  of  what  the  Church  really  is 
and  what  it  can  reasonably  be  expected  to  do.  To  judge  whether 
the  Church  has  so  far  succeeded  or  failed  in  performing  its  func- 
tion in  our  democracy,  and  to  gain  a  clear  conception  of  what  that 
function  should  be,  requires  more  thought  than  is  usually  devoted 
to  such  questions  by  those  outside  the  Church. 

Nor  is  this  uncertainty  as  to  the  duty  of  the  Church  confined 
to  outsiders.  Among  church  members  also  we  find  a  wide  difference 
of  view  as  to  what  function  the  Church  should  fulfil  in  the  life 
of  our  time.  There  are  still  Christians  who  fix  all  their  hope  upon 
the  visible  coming  of  Christ  and  believe  that  the  chief  duty  of  be- 
lievers is  to  warn  men  of  His  speedy  return  to  judge  the  world; 
while  others  are  chiefly  concerned  that  the  Church  should  be  an 
active  agent  in  the  reformation  and  even  the  reconstruction  of 
society. 

And  as  Christians  differ  in  their  view  of  the  function  of  the 
Church,  so  they  differ  in  their  view  of  the  way  in  which  that  func- 
tion should  be  discharged.  Some  believe  that  the  Church's  pri- 
mary responsibility  is  to  preach  the  Christian  ideal  and  to  inspire 
the  men  and  women  who,  in  their  several  walks  of  life  and  through 
different  institutions  of  society,  will  make  this  ideal  prevail.  Oth- 
ers believe  that  the  Church  as  an  institution  is  directly  responsible 
for  social  betterment  and  should  itself  undertake  as  an  organized 
body  the  works  of  charity,  of  education,  of  healing,  of  economic  and 


DEMOCRACY  AND  THE  CHURCH  7 

industrial  reform,  which  are  now  largely  in  the  hands  of  secular 
agencies. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  time  had  come  for  an  impartial 
and  objective  study  of  the  function  of  the  Church  in  human  society 
and  of  the  nature  of  the  contribution  which  it  may  fairly  be  ex- 
pected to  make  to  the  progress  of  mankind.  When  times  were  easy 
and  issues  relatively  simple,  one  could  be  content  with  the  tra- 
ditional formula,  equally  acceptable  to  evangelical  Protestant  and 
to  radical  socialist,  that  religion  is  an  affair  of  the  individual  con- 
science, and  that  the  Church  concerns  those  only  who  choose  to  be- 
long to  it.  But  we  are  coming  to  see  that  the  matter  is  not  so 
simple.  The  boundaries  that  separate  one  man's  personality  from 
his  neighbor's  have  been  embarrassingly  obscured,  and  of  institu- 
tions most  of  all  it  proves  impossible  to  say  where  the  limit  of  their 
influence  is  to  be  fixed. 

3.    Purpose  and  Scope  of  the  Present  Study. 

Let  us,  then,  take  up  these  two  questions:  (1)  What  has  modem 
democracy  a  right  to  expect  of  the  Church?  (2)  What  reason  is 
there  for  believing  that  the  Church  will  do  the  work  which  may 
reasonably  be  expected  of  it  by  the  forward-looking  men  and 
women  of  our  generation? 

We  must  begin  by  knowing  what  we  have  a  right  to  expect. 
Many  demands  are  made  upon  the  churches  which  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  they  cannot  meet.  They  are  asked  to  do  things  which 
are  the  proper  responsibility  of  other  institutions  and  agencies,  and 
sometimes  in  their  desire  to  be  all  things  to  all  men,  they  try  to 
do  these  things.  Such  easy  compliance  can  have  only  unfortunate 
results.  It  diverts  attention  from  the  Church's  true  and  unescap- 
able  responsibility.  It  wastes  energies  that  ought  to  be  expended 
on  more  important  matters.  It  leads  people  to  expect  from  the 
Church  service  which  they  have  a  right  to  ask  of  state  or  school, 
and  thus  they  overlook  the  greater  thing  which  the  Church  alone 
can  do.  Before  we  measure  the  Church's  performance  we  must 
first  determine  the  standard  which  should  be  employed.  Primary 
among  the  needs  of  the  day  is  a  sound  theory  of  the  nature  and 
function  of  the  Church. 


8  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Such  a  complete  theory  this  book  does  not  profess  to  give.  That 
must  be  the  work  of  many  minds  working  through  many  genera- 
tions. What  is  offered  here  is  such  a  contribution  as  one  man 
can  make  who  beheves  profoundly  in  the  unique  service  which  the 
Church  can  render  and  whose  duties  during  recent  years  have 
brought  him  into  close  touch  with  leaders  in  all  branches  of  the 
Church  during  a  period  in  the  history  of  the  co-operative  move- 
ment when  new  experiments  were  being  tried  and  old  theories 
brought  again  to  the  final  test  of  practice. 

This  desire  to  keep  theory  in  close  touch  with  fact  must  be 
our  excuse  for  confining  the  present  study  to  American  Protestant- 
ism.^ We  shall  not  forget  the  wider  relations  of  our  subject  so 
far  as  they  affect  other  churches  and  other  countries.  Indeed,  our 
study  will  bring  fresh  evidence  of  the  impossibility  of  doing  this 
even  if  we  were  disposed  to  do  so.  But  for  the  time  being  we  shall 
concentrate  so  far  as  possible  upon  the  narrower  field.  We  shall 
inquire  what  opportunity  now  opens  before  the  Protestant  churches 
of  America,  and  what  reason  there  is  for  believing  that  the  churches 
will  rise  to  this  opportunity  and  do  the  thing  to  which  the  need  of 
man  and  the  Spirit  of  God  alike  seem  to  point. 

This  restriction  to  the  narrower  field  is  the  less  to  be  regretted, 
because  even  within  the  limits  thus  set  we  shall  find  problems  too 
difficult  and  many-sided  for  immediate  solution.  Almost  every  ques- 
tion of  principle  which  meets  the  student  of  religion  in  any  country 
or  in  any  age  confronts  the  student  of  American  Protestantism. 
If  we  are  to  make  progress  at  all  it  will  be  necessary  to  ignore  many 
attractive  side  issues  and  hold  ourselves  rigidly  to  the  main  track. 
We  must  try  to  see  the  big  things  big  and  the  small  things  small. 

*  A  word  should  be  said  in  explanation  of  the  use  of  the  term  "Protestant- 
ism." The  author  knows  American  Christians  who  dislike  this  term  because 
it  seems  to  them  divisive  and  narrowing  and  he  would  gladly  use  another  if 
one  could  be  found.  The  fact  remains  that  the  term  has  come  into  general  use 
to  describe  the  group  of  churches  which  broke  away  from  Rome  in  the  six- 
teenth century  and  which  have  this  in  common,  that  they  lay  greater  stress 
on  the  Bible  as  the  supreme  revelation  of  God  and  on  the  right  of  the  free 
spirit  to  interpret  the  Bible  for  itself,  than  was  the  case  with  the  older  church 
from  which  they  separated.  Within  this  group  there  are  many  who  are  rev- 
erent of  the  Catholic  tradition  and  conscious  of  ties  which  bind  them  to  the 
churches  of  the  past  which  they  are  not  willing  to  sever.  For  Christians  of 
this  type  the  author  has  great  respect,  and  recognizes  that  no  comprehensive 
plan  for  unity  can  hope  to  succeed  which  leaves  them  out.  He  trusts  that 
they  will  not  be  deterred  by  the  title  from  reading  this  book. 


DEMOCRACY  AND  THE  CHURCH  9 

Above  all  we  must  endeavor  to  distinguish  that  which  is  alive  and 
growing  from  that  which  has  had  its  day.  "History,"  once  said  a 
great  scholar,  "is  full  of  ghosts" — movements  and  ideas  which  pro- 
fess to  be  alive  when  they  have  really  died  long  ago.  For  the  his- 
torian of  the  past  most  of  these  ghosts  have  been  laid.  For  one 
who  wishes  to  interpret  the  history  which  is  being  lived  they  are  a 
haunting  presence  and  may  easily  divert  him  from  his  proper  path. 

It  will  help  us  to  find  our  way  through  the  intricacies  of  our 
subject  if,  at  the  outset,  we  remind  ourselves  of  the  main  topics 
of  our  inquiry.  We  shall  begin  with  the  environment  in  which 
the  Church  must  do  its  work.  This  will  require  us  to  consider 
briefly  the  present  spiritual  condition  of  America  and  to  point  out 
the  chief  needs  and  problems  to  which  the  churches  must  address 
themselves.  We  shall  study  the  religion  of  the  average  American 
and  ask  ourselves  how  it  came  to  be  what  it  is.  We  shall  point 
out  the  deeper  problems  which  emerge  when  we  begin  to  look  below 
the  surface  and  consider  the  exceptional  groups  who  are  out  of 
touch  with  the  Church.  We  shall  remind  ourselves  of  the  larger 
setting  in  which  this  life  is  placed  and  of  the  ways  in  which  the 
spiritual  problems  of  America  are  affected  by  this  larger  setting, 
which  includes  Asia  and  Africa  as  well  as  Europe. 

Having  studied  the  people  to  whom  the  Church  is  to  minister, 
we  shall  next  examine  the  Church  itself.  Here  our  thought  must 
follow  the  changes  produced  by  the  war.  We  shall  begin  by  ask- 
ing what  the  American  Church  was  like  when  the  war  broke  out. 
What  were  its  outstanding  characteristics  and  what  were  their  his- 
torical antecedents?  Wherein  did  the  churches  show  themselves 
weak  and  wherein  strong  when  in  common  with  all  other  American 
institutions  they  faced  the  test  of  war?  How,  in  the  next  place,  did 
the  churches  fare  in  the  war?  How  did  they  meet  the  new  oppor- 
tunities which  the  war  brought  and  what  services  did  they  render 
to  the  country  and  to  mankind?  What  lessons  did  the  churches 
learn  which  will  be  fruitful  for  the  future?  Where,  finally,  did  the 
war  leave  the  churches?  In  what  spirit  are  they  facing  the  new 
problems  which  confront  them  now  that  the  war  is  over? 

Having  thus  cleared  the  ground  we  shall  be  ready  to  enter 
upon  the  main  course  of  our  inquiry.  This  requires  us  to  define 
the  standard  by  which  the  Church  must  be  judged.  What  have  we 
a  right  to  expect  of  the  American  Church  if  it  is  to  realize  our  ideal 


10  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  what  a  Church  should  be?  The  Church  professes  to  be  the  insti- 
tution of  a  world  religion.  What  is  the  Christianity  of  which  it  is 
the  expression  and  on  what  grounds  does  Christianity  appeal  for 
the  allegiance  of  men?  There  are  forces  in  the  modern  world  which 
challenge  the  Christian  claim — forces  in  the  realm  of  the  intellect, 
forces  in  the  realm  of  affairs.  There  is  that  silent  and  pervasive  in- 
fluence we  call  the  scientific  spirit.  There  is  that  loud  and  dis- 
turbing group  of  forces  which  make  up  the  industrial  movement. 
These  have  their  own  tests  for  contemporary  institutions.  The 
Church  cannot  evade  their  scrutiny.  We  must  look  their  criticism 
in  the  face.  We  must  ask  ourselves  what  effect  the  scientific  move- 
ment will  have  upon  the  Church's  ancient  faith  in  a  self-revealing 
God  and  His  promise  of  a  present  spiritual  salvation.  We  must 
know  how  the  Church  is  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  modem  man 
for  a  religion  which  conforms  to  the  facts  of  the  real  world;  what 
it  has  to  offer  to  the  individual,  not  simply  in  his  private  and  per- 
sonal relations,  but  as  a  member  of  society,  meeting  new  questions — 
economic,  racial,  political,  international.  Above  all,  we  must  learn 
what  changes  the  Church  must  make  in  organization  in  order  to 
cope  with  the  present  situation ;  how  far  and  in  what  sense  we  ought 
to  expect  the  churches  to  become  the  Church. 

In  the  light  of  this  preliminary  discussion  of  principle  we  must 
next  study  the  Church  as  it  is.  We  must  learn  what  the  churches 
are  doing  and  planning  in  the  local  community,  in  specialized  forms 
of  service,  in  the  country  at  large.  This  survey  will  introduce  us 
to  the  problem  of  unity  in  its  practical  form  as  it  meets  us  in  the 
efforts  which  are  being  made  to  bring  various  sections  of  the  Church 
together  in  organic  union  or  to  devise  ways  of  expressing  the  spir- 
itual sympathy  which  unites  those  who  are  not  yet  ready  to  sur- 
render their  corporate  independence.  It  will  show  us  how  large  a 
part  theory  plays  in  the  decisions  of  practical  men  and  will  prove 
to  us  that  the  key  to  the  Church's  future  progress  lies  with  the 
teacher. 

This  brings  us  naturally  to  the  fifth  and  final  division  of  our 
study;  namely,  the  educational  agencies  of  American  Protestantism. 
Having  learned  to  know  the  Church  as  it  is  to-day,  our  next  step 
must  be  to  find  out  what  it  is  doing  to  prepare  for  to-morrow.  Ad- 
mitting, as  all  must  admit,  the  gulf  between  ideal  and  reality,  what 
steps  are  being  taken  to  bridge  that  gap?    What  are  the  Protestant 


DEMOCRACY  AND  THE  CHURCH  11 

churches  of  America  teaching  their  young  people?  What  are  they 
doing  to  fit  themselves  to  become  more  effective  teachers  in  the 
future?  How  far  does  American  Protestantism  contain  within  it- 
self the  principle  of  improvement  which  warrants  our  hope  that  it 
will  prove  the  unifying  and  inspiring  influence  which  American 
democracy  needs? 

Such  in  briefest  terms  is  the  ground  to  be  covered  in  the  dis- 
cussion that  follows.  We  shall  speak  first  of  the  environment  in 
which  the  Church  must  work;  secondly,  of  its  equipment  for  its 
task;  thirdly,  of  the  standard  of  judgment  to  be  applied;  fourthly, 
of  the  organization  through  which  the  Church  functions;  and  finally, 
of  the  creative  forces  at  work  within  the  organization. 

Since  we  are  proposing  a  study  of  institutional  Christianity, 
much  time  must  be  spent  in  talking  about  organization  and  meth- 
ods, but  we  should  never  allow  ourselves  to  forget  that  these  are 
only  part,  and  by  no  means  the  most  important  part,  of  the  Church's 
life.  Like  all  institutions  the  Church  is  conservative  in  the  literal 
sense  of  that  much  abused  term.  It  hands  down  with  reverent  care 
to  each  new  generation  habits  and  customs  which  have  grown  out 
of  the  creative  activity  of  the  past.  But  creation  in  religion,  as  in 
the  wider  universe,  is  not  over.  It  is  going  on  to-day,  and  those 
who  shape  the  life  of  institutions  must  take  this  into  account.  We 
may  plan  as  we  will,  but  when  all  is  done,  there  is  always  some- 
thing incalculable  about  religion.  Chief  of  all  the  factors  in  the 
life  of  the  soul  is  the  free  Spirit  of  God  who  touches  the  spirits  of 
men  and  arouses  them  to  new  and  undreamed-of  activities.  The 
Spirit  of  God  is  the  refreshing  and  quickening  shower.  The  Church 
is  but  the  channel  through  which  the  water  is  conveyed.  But  water 
may  be  wasted  for  lack  of  a  proper  conduit,  and  those  who  build 
the  reservoirs  and  lay  the  pipes  have  an  essential  part  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 


PART  I 

FACING  THE  FACTS 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN 

1.     Opportunity  Afforded  by  the  Army  for  the  Study  of  the  Religion 
of  American  Young  Men 

We  begin  our  study,  then,  with  the  environment  in  which  the 
Church  must  do  its  work.  The  first  fact  to  note  is  that  it  is  an 
environment  of  persons.  In  order  to  understand  the  Church  we 
must  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  men  and  women  to  whom  the 
Church  ministers.  To  estimate  correctly  the  opportunities  and 
prospects  of  the  American  churches  we  must  appreciate  the  spiritual 
needs  and  problems  of  the  people  who  live  in  America. 

This  is  by  no  means  easy.  It  is  hard  enough  to  weigh  the  spir- 
itual values  of  an  age  which  is  past,  when  the  records  are  all  in 
and  the  deeds  done  have  worked  out  their  inevitable  conse- 
quences. But  what  standards  shall  we  employ  in  our  own  age  and 
among  our  own  people?  In  the  mass  of  material  which  comes  to 
hand  how  shall  we  distinguish  the  significant  from  the  adventitious? 
It  has  been  truly  said:  "He  who  would  decipher  the  meaning  of  his 
own  time  must  lead  an  anxious  life." 

Certain  distinctions  we  may  make  with  confidence.  We  may 
distinguish  between  the  attitude  of  religious  people  in  general  and 
the  exceptional  groups  who  are  critical  of  the  Church  or  hostile 
to  it.  We  may  differentiate  the  demands  which  the  individual 
makes  upon  the  Church  for  solace  and  guidance  from  the  social 
needs  and  tasks  which  affect  masses  of  men  and  involve  political 
and  economic  as  well  as  more  narrowly  religious  interests.  We 
may  separate  those  interests  which  are  primarily  American  from 
those  larger  issues  which  affect  man  as  man  and  require  us  to 
consider  religion  in  its  inter-racial  and  international  relationships. 

Our  first  attention  must  be  given  to  the  average  American,  the 
person  who  lives  on  Main  Street.  We  must  try  to  learn  what  is 
thought  about  religion  by  the  rank  and  file  of  Americans,  and  what 
they  expect  from  it;  who  are  found  within  the  Church  and  what 
these  persons  are  doing  and  receiving  while  they  are  there;  why 

15 


16  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

those  are  outside  who  are  outside;  whose  fault  it  is,  theirs  or  the 
Church's,  that  they  do  not  take  a  more  active  part  in  organized 
religion;  whether  it  is  because  they  are  not  interested  in  religion 
or  capable  of  religious  experience,  or  because  the  kind  of  religion 
which  the  Church  has  to  offer  does  not  appeal  to  them.  The 
answers  to  these  questions  may  not  carry  us  far,  but  they  will 
supply  a  point  of  departure. 

When  the  Great  War  broke  out  it  lifted  us  for  the  moment  above 
our  local  prejudices  and  limitations,  and  forced  us  to  consider  the 
condition  of  the  country  as  a  whole.  What  is  more  important, 
it  furnished  us  with  information  which  enabled  us  to  do  so  intelli- 
gently. Our  early  adoption  of  the  military  draft  made  the  war 
in  the  strictest  sense  a  national  affair.  For  the  first  time  in  our 
history  a  group  of  men  was  gathered  from  the  whole  country,  with- 
out distinction  of  occupation,  wealth,  race,  or  geographical  loca- 
tion. This  afforded  a  rare  opportunity  for  the  study  of  American 
conditions.  We  secured  data  that  we  could  not  otherwise  have  ob- 
tained about  the  health  of  our  people,  their  physique,  their  educa- 
tion, their  morale,  and,  about  that  which  particularly  interests  us 
here,  their  religion. 

These  facts  have  been  preserved  for  our  information  in  a  vol- 
ume issued  by  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Out- 
look, entitled  "Religion  Among  American  Men."  ^  It  is  a  study  of 
the  religion  of  the  average  American  as  revealed  by  observation  of 
conditions  in  the  army.  Compiled  by  a  representative  committee 
of  Christians  of  different  denominations,  based  upon  the  experiences 
of  a  large  number  of  chaplains.  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
secretaries,  and  other  religious  workers,  it  gives  us  the  most  compre- 
hensive and  reliable  information  we  have  on  the  subject  under  dis- 
cussion. 

It  is  true  that  any  conclusions  derived  from  such  a  study  must 
be  supplemented  by  evidence  dealing  with  other  groups  and  other 
ages.  Extensive  as  was  the  material  utilized,  it  was  yet  too  re- 
stricted to  be  fully  representative.  The  subjects  of  this  study  were 
all  young  men,  and  men  selected  for  exceptional  health  and  vigor. 
They  were  living  under  strong  emotion,  faced  suddenly  with  the 
possibility  of  the  loss  of  all  that  they  loved  most.     The  conditions 

*  "Religion  Among  American  Men:  As  Revealed  by  a  Study  of  Conditions 
in  the  Army."    Association  Press,  New  York,  1920. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN  17 

of  their  life  were  unnatural  and  artificial.  They  were  removed 
from  home  and  familiar  work.  They  were  cut  off  from  associa- 
tion with  those  of  other  ages  and  of  the  opposite  sex.  They  were 
relieved  of  all  responsibility  to  think  for  themselves.  They  were 
subjected  to  a  rigorous  discipline.  Even  within  this  restricted 
sphere  their  actual  experiences  differed  widely.  Some  were  on  the 
fighting  line,  face  to  face  with  all  the  tragedy  and  horror  of  war; 
while  others  never  crossed  the  sea,  or  rendered  their  service  in  the 
reserve  area  behind  the  lines.  Obviously  in  studying  the  experi- 
ences of  men  under  such  conditions  there  is  need  of  great  discrimina- 
tion and  reserve. 

This  was  recognized  by  the  Committee,  and  determined  their 
method  of  procedure.  They  distinguished  between  the  religion 
which  men  brought  with  them  to  the  war,  and  their  religious  ex- 
perience under  .the  new  conditions.  They  distinguished,  further, 
between  what  they  experienced  under  normal  conditions,  and  what 
they  lived  through  in  times  of  exceptional  crisis  and  shock.  Finally, 
they  distinguished  between  what  they  said  about  religion,  and  the 
faith  their  actions  revealed.  With  these  qualifications  their  reports 
furnish  us  the  material  for  certain  generalizations  which  we  may 
take  as  the  basis  for  further  discussion. 

2.     What  Young  America  Thinks  about  God  and  Religion 

In  the  first  place  it  may  safely  be  said  that  the  rank  and  file  of 
the  young  men  in  America  are  religious.  They  believe  in  God  and 
in  a  life  after  death,  and  they  have  some  connection,  at  least 
nominal,  with  the  Christian  church.  Just  what  proportion  of  the 
men  were  church  members  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  Doubtless  the 
number  did  not  differ  appreciably  from  that  in  the  nation  at  large. 
The  interesting  thing  is  that  so  many  men  should  have  confessed 
to  some  connection  with  the  Christian  church.  Estimates  vary 
from  the  great  majority  to  ninety  per  cent,  and  even  higher.^ 

^Cf.  "Religion  Among  American  Men,"  p.  10.  A  striking  example  is  that 
of  Camp  Devens,  Massachusetts,  where  through  the  co-operation  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  the  camp  pastors,  and  the  militar\'  authorities, 
a  religious  census  was  taken  in  July  and  August,  1918,  which  covered  25,607 
men.  Of  this  number  only  586  failed  to  express  some  church  preference, 
approximately  two  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number.  In  a  religious  census  of 
1,487  men  in  a  base  hospital  in  a  Southern  camp,  only  sixteen  expressed  no 
preference.    Op.  dt.,  p.  9. 


18  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

This  contact,  indirect  if  not  direct  with  the  Christian  Church, 
helps  to  explain  an  attitude  in  many  of  the  young  men  of  the  Ameri- 
can army  which  was  frequently  remarked  by  foreign  observers. 
Drawn  in  large  numbers  from  homes  where  religion  was  respected 
and  the  Church  taken  for  granted,  they  brought  with  them  to 
their  new  life  a  background  of  association  and  habit  which  made 
prayer  and  the  singing  of  hymns  a  natural  vehicle  for  the  expres- 
sion of  their  deeper  emotions.  This  was  true  even  when,  as  was 
often  the  case,  their  lives  contradicted  their  ideals  or  yielded  all  too 
readily  to  the  solicitations  of  the  new  environment. 

In  an  unpublished  letter  written  by  a  chaplain  of  the  Ameri- 
can Expeditionary  Force  ^  we  find  the  following  description:  He  is 
speaking  of  a  service  which  he  had  been  holding  near  the  front  dur- 
ing one  of  the  intervals  when  his  regiment  was  relieved  from  active 
service. 

The  service  this  morning  was  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  that  I  have  had. 
After  a  great  deal  of  palaver  I  finally  secured  the  use  of  the  church  in  this 
village.  The  French  chaplain  had  mass  at  eight-forty-five,  and  my  service 
came  at  ten-thirty.  The  whole  thing  would  make  a  good  story.  First  of  all, 
the  argument  with  the  French  chaplain  through  an  interpreter,  then  the  secur- 
ing of  a  detail  of  men  to  clean  the  building.  A  big  shell  had  gone  through  the 
roof  leaving  a  great  hollow  place  in  the  centre  aisle.  Another  shell  had  come 
in  through  the  side  wall.  Of  course,  all  the  glass  in  the  windows  was  broken. 
Outside,  the  little  graveyard  had  suffered  in  the  same  way.  One  grave-stone 
had  been  made  in  the  form  of  a  big  stone  coffin  and  the  shell  had  torn  one 
end  of  it  off,  leaving  the  stone  standing  near  by  like  a  partly  opened  door.  It 
reminds  me  somewhat  of  the  pictures  you  sometimes  see  of  the  Day  of  Resur- 
rection. 

The  band  had  been  practising  on  some  hymns  for  me.  At  twenty  minutes 
past  ten  the  bugler  blew  the  church  call  and  then  the  band  started  and 
marched  up  through  the  street  playing  a  march  composed  of  "Onward,  Chris- 
tian Soldiers,"  and  "Stand  up  for  Jesus,"  and  "Oh,  Come,  All  Ye  Faithful." 
They  stopped  outside  the  door  and  marched  quietly  in  and  up  the  aisle  to 
the  front  on  the  right-hand  side  where  I  had  a  place  for  them.  Then  the 
fellows  began  to  come  in.  I  suppose  there  were  about  two  hundred  of  them. 
You  cannot  imagine  how  it  helped  to  have  a  real  church  building  with  seats 
and  music.  And  when  after  a  few  opening  sentences  the  band  started  "Praise 
God  from  Whom  All  Blessings  Flow,"  I  just  thought  I  was  standing  up  once 
more  in  the  pulpit  of  the  dear  old  University  Place  Church.  Shell  holes, 
dangling  plaster,  the  band,  and  the  men  in  uniforms  disappeared  and  I  was 
right  back  home.  And  that  is  the  way  the  whole  lot  of  us  felt.  A  picture  of 
all  the  memories  that  were  before  our  eyes  would  have  been  a  very  beautiful 
and  precious  one. 

*  Rev.  Guthrie  Speers,  Chaplain  of  the  102d  Infantry  Regiment,  26th  Divi- 
sion, A.  E.  F. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN  19 

My  forty-five  little  hymn  books  did  not  go  around,  but  there  were  a  whole 
lot  who  did  not  seem  to  need  them,  who  just  put  their  hands  behind  their 
backs,  looked  up  toward  the  ceiling  a  little,  and  seemed  to  get  the  words  by 
special  messenger  from  the  old  church  back  home.  We  sang  "Come,  Thou 
Almighty  King,"  "What  a  Friend  We  Have  in  Jesus,"  "Onward,  Christian 
Soldiers,"  and  "The  Son  of  God  Goes  Forth  to  War."  But  the  best  of  them 
all  to  me  was  the  Doxology.  It  was  a  fine  service,  not  because  of  anything  I 
did,  but  because  of  the  things  that  came  to  all  of  us,  the  precious  memories 
and  thoughts. 

It  may  be  said  that  this  was  an  exceptional  instance.  Let  me 
cite  a  witness  whose  testimony  covers  a  wider  field  of  observation. 
Dr.  Talbot,  senior  chaplain  of  the  First  Division  of  the  American 
Expeditionary  Force,  writes: 

Pick  up  a  magazine  from  home.  You  read  of  the  religious  work  of  the 
cantonments,  and  how  soldiers  flock  to  the  services.  I  hope  it  is  so.  I  have 
never  seen  it.  We  are  not  so  fixed  here  that  we  can  flock.  But  let  me  tell 
you  what  I  have  seen.  During  the  first  two  weeks'  fighting  in  the  Argonne, 
my  chaplains  buried  between  fourteen  hundred  and  fifteen  hundred  dead. 
The  personal  effects  came  through  my  hands.  I  did  not  count  them.  But  I 
venture  to  say  that  in  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  personal  effects  of  the  dead 
soldiers  there  was  a  Bible,  or  a  Prayer-book,  or  a  crucifix  or  scapula,  or  some 
indication  that  religion  was  an  element  in  that  man's  life.  More  than  that. 
The  force  of  which  that  treasured  object  was  an  outward  sign  was  vital  and 
necessary.  By  September,  1918,  we  had  hiked  through  enough  mud  and  rain 
to  scrap  anything  not  essential.* 

But  if  all  observers  agree  that  the  young  men  in  the  American 
army  were  religious,  there  is  equal  agreement  that  the  religion 
which  they  had  was  exceedingly  vague  and  undeveloped.  Not  only 
did  the  difference  between  the  different  churches  play  a  small  role, 
but  even  the  differences  between  Christianity  and  other  religions. 
God  was  a  power  controlling  destiny,  to  whom  one  prayed,  but 
His  character  was  ill-defined,  and  He  could  almost  as  easily  be  iden- 
tified with  the  fatalistic  God  of  Mohammed  as  with  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ.  Prayer  was  in- 
stinctive and  chiefly  for  personal  and  private  matters.  Christ  was 
a  vague,  ideal  figure,  not  the  personal  Saviour  of  traditional  re- 
ligion. The  sense  of  personal  sin  was  conspicuous  by  its  absence. 
God  was  Companion  and  Protector,  not  Judge  or  Saviour,  The 
Bible,  as  we  have  seen,  was  carried  even  when  it  was  not  read, 
but  there  is  little  evidence  of  intelligent  and  sympathetic  acquain- 
tance with  its  contents.  There  was  indeed  but  a  meagre  understand- 

*  Quoted  in  part  in  "Religion  Among  American  Men,"  p.  89. 


20  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

ing  of  the  Church's  teaching,  and  Christian  doctrine  was  either 
ignored,  or  was  referred  to  in  connections  which  did  not  show  any- 
adequate  comprehension  of  its  meaning.^ 

There  were,  of  course,  many  exceptions  to  this  rule.  There  were 
individuals  whose  grasp  of  religious  subjects  was  refreshing.  In 
the  case  of  some  denominations,  notably  the  Roman  Catholic  and 
the  Lutheran,  there  was  evidence  on  the  part  of  some  men  of 
systematic  religious  instruction  in  the  tenets  of  their  religion.^ 
But  of  the  great  majority  of  Protestant  church  members  of  all 
denominations,  our  generalization  holds  good.  No  single  conclusion 
is  reinforced  by  a  larger  mass  of  testimony  than  that  of  the  failure 
of  the  churches  to  furnish  the  young  men  who  had  been  under  their 
instruction  with  an  intelligent  understanding  of  Christian  beliefs, 
Christian  ideals,  and  Christian  history.^ 

Especially  noticeable  was  the  lack  of  contact  between  the  Church 
as  an  institution  and  the  wider  social  ideals  and  purposes  which 
called  forth  what  was  best  in  these  young  men.  No  prominence 
was  given  to  the  Kingdom  of  God,  as  a  better  social  order  for  which 
to  work.  Indeed,  there  was  almost  no  evidence  of  any  connection 
in  the  minds  of  most  of  them  between  religion  and  social  betterment. 
Where  social  ideals  and  aspirations  were  present,  they  were  not 
associated  with  Christianity  or  the  Church.*  This  is  the  more 
significant  in  view  of  the  fact  that,  as  we  shall  see  later,  there 
has  been  a  growing  tendency  in  certain  sections  of  the  Christian 
Church  to  emphasize  the  social  aspects  of  Christianity.  It  would 
seem,  therefore,  that  this  emphasis  has  not  yet  affected  the  edu- 
cational work  of  the  churches  to  any  considerable  extent. 

The  absence  of  the  social  note  in  religion  was  the  more  note- 
worthy because  of  the  ready  response  of  many  of  the  men  to  the 

'  Cf.  "Religion  Among  American  Men,"  Chapter  III,  "The  Faith  of  the 
Majority." 

*  "Religion  Among  American  Men,"  p.  16.  Cf.  the  following  testimony 
from  a  Lutheran  minister  of  wide  experience:  "Among  the  Lutherans  of  the 
Eastern  states  I  should  say  that  probably  less  than  ten  per  cent,  have  ever 
had  any  parochial  school  training;  in  the  Western  states  the  percentage  would 
be  higher  but  would  hardly  reach  one-half.  The  real  secret  of  the  thing  is  the 
catechetical  training  which  precedes  confirmation  and  which  is  universal  in  the 
Lutheran  churches."    P.  16,  note  13. 

'  Religion  Among  American  Men,"  pp.  14,  15.  Note  that  the  same  situa- 
tion is  reported  as  true  of  the  English  army.  Cf.  Cairns,  "The  Army  and 
Religion,"  London,  1919,  pp.  99  sq. 

*  "Religion  Among  American  Men,"  p.  137. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN  21 

ideals  of  social  service.  Among  the  ethical  qualities  most  admired 
by  them,  unselfishness,  courage,  and  loyalty  were  conspicuous.^ 
The  response  to  the  first  call  for  troops  was  the  best  proof  of  this. 
No  one  whose  privilege  it  was  to  go  into  the  camps  and  meet  the 
men  under  the  impulse  of  that  first  enthusiasm  could  feel  that 
Ambassador  Harvey's  description  of  the  motives  which  led  to 
America's  entrance  into  the  war  was  anything  but  a  libel.  There 
may  have  been  older  men  whose  attitude  Mr.  Harvey  has  correctly 
reported.  Applied  to  the  young  men  of  our  country  his  words  were 
far  from  the  truth. 

It  is  all  the  more  striking  that  these  generous  and  unselfish 
qualities  should  not  in  the  minds  of  most  men  have  been  associated 
with  Christianity.  On  the  whole  Christianity  was  regarded  as  a 
self-centred  and  a  negative  religion,  having  to  do  primarily  with 
one's  own  personal  welfare  here  and  hereafter.^  Yet  when  the 
Christian  appeal  was  made  by  men  who  could  talk  simple  language, 
the  response  was  instant  and  generous.  It  would  seem,  then,  that 
the  fault  at  this  point  was  not  with  the  men,  but  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  they  had  not  been  properly  taught  the  true  nature  of  the 
Christian  Gospel. 

All  students  of  the  religious  life  of  the  army  agree  in  reporting  a 
great  impatience  with  denominationalism  and  a  widespread  lack  of 
interest  in  the  differences  between  the  churches.^  Yet  there  is  al- 
most equal  agreement  as  to  the  responsiveness  of  the  men  to  worship 
imder  the  stress  of  emotion.  I  have  already  referred  to  the  men's 
enjoyment  of  the  hymns.  The  same  was  true  of  the  sacrament.* 
It  was  widely  observed  and  apparently  much  appreciated.  Both 
in  the  home  camps  (as  in  the  great  communion  services  at  Camp 
Dix  and  Camp  Meade,  which  were  attended  by  thousands),  and 
under  the  more  trying  and  dangerous  conditions  at  the  front,  it 
seemed  to  appeal  to  something  in  the  men  which  the  spoken  word 
could  not  as  effectively  reach.  In  view  of  the  infrequent  use  of 
the  sacrament  in  the  non-liturgical  churches  this  responsiveness  is 
worthy  of  serious  consideration.  Was  this  only  a  passing  phase, 
to  disappear  with  the  crisis  which  had  called  it  forth?    Or  have  we 

"'Religion  Among  American  Men,"  p.  45. 

'  Cf .  the  chapter  on  "The  Men  and  the  Church,"  p.  21  sq.,  especially  pp. 
22  and  23. 

•  Op.  cit.,  p.  29. 
*0p  cit.,  p.  103. 


22  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

here  the  revelation  of  a  need  in  human  nature,  to  which  some  of 
us  have  as  yet  given  too  little  heed? 

Much  has  been  made  of  the  soldiers'  criticism  of  the  Church. 
That  there  was  serious  criticism  cannot  be  denied.  It  is,  however, 
easy  to  exaggerate  its  extent.  The  fact  seems  to  be  that  many  men 
were  indifferent  to  the  Church  because  it  did  not  seem  to  stand  for 
the  great  ideals  in  which  they  were  most  interested.  If  we  try  to 
sum  up  the  criticisms  in  definite  form,  we  find  that  they  have  to  do 
partly  with  the  inadequacy  of  the  Church's  moral  ideal  and  the 
failure  of  church  members  to  live  up  to  their  profession;  partly 
with  the  unreality  or  triviality  of  the  religion  of  the  Church,  the 
fact  that  the  churches  have  been  so  much  concerned  with  matters 
of  routine  and  externals  that  they  have  not  succeeded  in  relating 
their  message  to  the  living  needs  of  the  day.^ 

One  further  point  requiring  notice  is  the  lack  of  evidence  of 
any  widespread  intellectual  difficulty  in  connection  with  religious 
belief.2    xhe  theoretical  obstacles  to  faith  were  conspicuous  by 
their  absence.    What  difficulties  remained  were  moral  rather  than 
intellectual— the  selfishness  of  Christians,    the    rivalries    of    the 
churches,  the  concern  of  religion  with  another  life  to  the  neglect 
of  this,  and  the  like.    The  one  conspicuous  exception  was  the  prob- 
lem of  evil,  which  the  war  kept  ever  before  men's  minds.^    Here, 
too,  there  is  food  for  thought  for  those  who  are  responsible  for 
the  religious  teaching  of  the  next  generation.    We  need  to  consider 
whether  we  have  not  been  giving  too  much  time  to  theoretical  and 
imaginary  difficulties,  and  ignoring  the  real  obstacles  that  keep 
men  from  faith  in  Christ.    In  the  army  we  had  a  chance  to  learn 
what  these  obstacles  are.    We  saw  that  to  deal  with  them  effectively 
we  must  show  men  a  working  religion  grappling  with  the  fact  of 
evil,  as  it  meets  us  in  this  present  life.    Yet  there  is  a  good  deal  of 
testimony  to  show  that  while  for  many  men  the  experiences  of  the 
war  made  faith  in  God  and  immortality  easier,  there  were  others 
for  whom  the  reverse  was  true.    Many  who  had  never  seriously 
faced  the  ultimate  problems  in  their  own  lives  were  suddenly  con- 
fronted with  these  world-old  mysteries  and  found  the  strain  upon 
*Cf.  "Religion  Among  American  Men,"  pp.  22-29;  Fosdick,  "The  Trenches 
and  the  Church  at  Home,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  January,  1919. 

=■  This  was  particularly  noticeable  in  connection  with  belief  in  immortality. 
,Cf.  "Religion  Among  American  Men,"  pp.  84  sq. 
*  Op.  cit.,  p.  82. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN  23 

faith  greater  than  they  could  bear.  So  much  was  this  the  case  that 
a  well-known  clergyman  of  wide  experience,  whose  position  in 
London  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  speak  with  numbers  of  the 
soldiers  who  were  coming  and  going,  summed  up  his  own  impres- 
sion of  such  conversations  in  the  paradoxical  sentence  that  the  war 
had  made  those  who  were  irreligious  before,  believers  in  God,  while 
it  had  shattered  the  faith  of  those  who  had  supposed  they  were 
believers. 

Such,  then,  in  barest  outline  is  the  picture  of  the  average 
American  young  man  as  it  was  revealed  by  a  study  of  conditions 
in  the  army.  Sincerely  and  simply  religious,  a  believer  in  God  and 
in  prayer,  even  when  he  forgets  one  and  omits  to  practise  the 
other,  he  is  an  admirer  of  unselfishness  and  loyalty  to  great  ends, 
which  he  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  associating  in  any  definite  way 
with  the  religion  which  has  been  preached  to  him  as  a  matter  of 
individual  salvation.  He  respects  the  Church  and  feels  a  vague 
attachment  to  it;  and  while  he  does  not  see  how  it  bears  very 
directly  on  his  personal  life,  or  has  any  very  definite  message  to 
him  on  the  matters  in  which  he  is  most  interested,  he  is  ready  to  turn 
to  it  for  inspiration  and  comfort  in  the  greatest  crises  of  his  life. 

3.     The  Attitude  of  the  Older  Generation 

Helpful  and  reliable  so  far  as  it  goes,  this  evidence  needs  sup- 
plementing in  several  important  respects.  Three  groups  in  par- 
ticular should  be  taken  into  account  before  our  survey  of  American 
religious  life  can  be  even  approximately  complete:  the  older  men, 
the  women,  the  children. 

Apart  from  war  conditions,  any  account  of  the  state  of  religion 
drawn  from  the  experience  of  young  men  alone  would  be  mislead- 
ing; for  youth  has  its  prejudices  and  limitations  which  later  experi- 
ence tends  to  correct.  With  the  responsibilities  of  later  life  come 
new  estimates  of  value.  One  grows  less  impatient  of  half  measures, 
readier  to  compromise,  more  willing  to  learn  from  the  past. 

In  two  respects  especially  the  religion  of  older  people  differs 
from  that  of  the  younger  generation.  It  differs  in  its  greater  ap- 
preciation of  the  objective  and  the  institutional.  It  differs  in  its 
greater  distrust  of  novelty. 

Older  people  appreciate  more  fully  than  those  who  are  younger 
the  values  that  are  embodied  in  institutions.     They  have  come  to 


24  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  time  of  life  when  permanence  means  more  to  them  than  it  once 
did.  They  have  seen  so  many  changes  which  are  not  for  the  better 
that  they  are  disposed  to  put  up  with  the  evils  of  existing  institu- 
tions for  the  sake  of  the  good  which  they  contain.  It  is  not  that 
they  do  not  sympathize  with  the  ends  which  the  radicals  seek.  In- 
deed, there  is  much  to  be  said  for  the  thesis  that  the  older  one 
grows  the  more  radical  he  becomes  in  his  ideals.  But  they  distrust 
the  plans  by  which  it  is  proposed  to  make  us  better.  Like  Bernard 
Shaw's  revolutionist,  their  dissatisfaction  with  things  as  they  are 
goes  so  far  as  to  include  the  proposals  to  reform  them.^  This  af- 
fects their  estimate  of  the  Church.  They  see  its  faults  as  clearly 
as  those  who  are  younger.  Indeed,  they  often  see  them  more  clearly, 
but  they  see  its  virtues,  too,  and  they  are  less  ready  to  risk  a  cer- 
tain good  for  a  doubtful  gain.  To  them  the  Church  is  a  social 
asset  of  proved  value,  and  they  are  not  ready  to  give  it  up  for  any 
substitute  which  has  not  stood  the  test  of  time. 

It  is  only  natural,  then,  that  we  should  find  many  older  men 
looking  with  suspicion  at  proposals  to  extend  the  range  of  the 
Church's  activity  in  the  social  field.  They  doubt  whether  it  is  wise 
for  ministers  to  interest  themselves  actively  in  politics  or  to  try 
to  commit  the  Church  to  remedies  for  our  social  evils  of  whose 
economic  soundness  they  are  not  sure.  Sometimes  this  disapproval 
expresses  itself  in  active  opposition  as  in  a  widely  read  letter  of  the 
Pittsburgh  Employers'  Association,^  in  which  the  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association  is  criticized  for  its  endorsement  of  the  Social 
Ideals  of  the  Churches.^  More  frequently  it  shows  itself  in  the 
demand  that  the  churches  confine  their  activities  to  their  proper 
sphere,  which  is  religion.  "Let  the  minister  stick  to  the  simple 
Gospel,"  we  are  told.  By  the  simple  Gospel  is  meant  the  message 
of  personal  forgiveness  and  salvation  which  was  characteristic  of 
the  older  evangelistic  preaching.     Like  their  sons,  the  fathers  think 

^Cf.  "Man  and  Superman,"  1903,  p.  183:  "All  who  achieve  real  distinction 
in  life  begin  as  revolutionists.  The  most  distinguished  persons  become  more 
revolutionary  as  they  grow  older,  though  they  are  commonly  supposed  to  be- 
come more  conservative,  owing  to  their  loss  of  faith  in  conventional  methods 
of  reform." 

•Quoted  in  the  Christian  Advocate,  February  10,  1921.  Cf.  the  interesting 
defence  of  the  employers'  position  by  Mr.  Long,  Vice-President  and  General 
Manager  of  the  Employers'  Association,  in  a  letter  to  the  Christian  Work, 
March  19,  1921.    Cf.  also  Industry,  February  1,  1921. 

'Ci.  p.  89. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN  25 

of  religion  as  something  separate  from  the  rest  of  life — a  spring 
of  inner  contentment  and  satisfaction,  reconciling  men  to  the  limi- 
tations and  failures  of  this  life  through  the  promise  of  compensation 
in  another  rather  than  as  an  active  social  force  in  the  life  that  now 
is.  But  while  to  the  young  man  this  is  a  reason  for  dissatisfaction 
with  the  Church,  or  at  least  for  the  absence  of  any  active  interest 
in  its  work,  to  his  senior  it  is  the  best  proof  of  the  Church's  value 
both  to  the  individual  and  to  society. 

Not  all  older  men,  however,  hold  this  negative  view  of  the 
Church's  function.  Many  value  it  for  the  opposite  reason,  because 
it  inculcates  in  the  individual  the  habits  of  self-reliance  and  in- 
dustry which  are  the  mainspring  of  social  progress.  They  have 
come  to  see  that  a  religion  which  can  do  no  more  for  a  man  than 
reconcile  him  to  his  failures  will  not  meet  the  needs  of  this  restless 
and  aspiring  age.  They  are  wise  enough  to  perceive  in  the  social 
unrest  of  our  time  not  simply  a  danger  to  be  guarded  against,  but 
a  source  of  new  power  to  be  utilized.  They  look  to  the  Church 
for  leadership  which  will  direct  this  new  power  into  fruitful  and 
beneficent  channels.^ 

The  most  convincing  evidence  of  the  strong  hold  of  religion  upon 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  American  people  is  the  widespread  habit 
of  church  attendance.  Much  has  been  said  and  written  in  recent 
years  about  the  decline  of  church  attendance  in  the  United  States, 
but  there  is  no  reliable  evidence  to  prove  that  it  is  growing  less. 
Indeed,  taking  the  country  at  large,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  has  ever 
been  a  time  in  our  history  when  more  people  were  in  the  habit  of 
attending  church  every  Sunday.^  When  we  consider  the  number 
of  rival  attractions  in  the  shape  of  golf,  baseball,  and  the  movies, 
and  reflect  how  far  the  old  sanctions  which  made  church  attendance 
a  badge  of  social  respectability  have  broken  down,  the  wonder  is 
not  that  so  many  men  remain  away  from  church,  but  that  so  many 
go.    In  its  ability  to  bring  large  numbers  to  its  weekly  service  the 

*  Mr.  Roger  Babson's  widely  read  book,  "Religion  and  Business,"  New  York, 
1920,  is  typical  of  this  point  of  view.  Cf.  also  '•Enduring  Investments,"  1921, 
and  "The  Future  of  the  Churches,"  1921,  by  the  same  author. 

'A  recent  canvass  of  student  church  attendance  at  Urbana  showed  that  on 
a  particular  Sunday,  more  than  thirty-five  hundred  undergraduates  attended 
church — probably  fifty  per  cent,  of  those  who  were  in  town  that  day — not  a 
bad  showing  for  a  state  university,  where  attendance  is  entirely  voluntary. 
Cf.  Christian  Century,  March  30,  1922,  p.  402. 


26  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Church  gives  a  signal  proof  of  the  strength  of  its  hold  upon  the 
conscience  and  conviction  of  its  members.  They  believe  in  the 
Church  in  spite  of  its  faults  as  answering  to  some  deep  need  of 
the  soul.  In  times  of  routine  the  bond  which  exists  between  the 
members  and  the  Church  may  be  loosened  and  may  even  seem 
to  part  altogether,  but  in  times  of  crisis  it  tightens  and  gives  evi- 
dence of  holding  power. 

The  very  general  disposition  on  the  part  of  American  parents 
to  send  their  children  to  Sunday  school  is  another  witness  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Church.  They  may  not  themselves  have  any  active 
part  in  church  life.  They  may  not  be  church  members  or  even  regu- 
lar church  attendants.  But  they  feel  that  the  Church  stands  for 
certain  great  values  and  interests  in  human  society  which  they 
would  like  their  children  to  share.  The  Church  inculcates  certain 
virtues  in  which  they  believe.  It  holds  up  certain  ideals  of  which 
they  approve.  It  fosters  habits  of  reverence,  loyalty,  and  respect 
for  authority  which  they  regard  as  essential  to  the  stability  of  so- 
ciety, and  they  wish  their  children  to  grow  up  in  an  atmosphere 
where  a  respect  for  these  qualities  is  cultivated. 

Of  such  facts  as  these  Dr.  Gilkey  has  reminded  us  in  his  recent 
pamphlet  on  the  effects  of  the  war  on  the  local  church.^  He  tells 
us  that  if  we  really  wish  to  understand  the  religious  experience  of 
America  during  the  war,  we  must  study  it  not  only  in  camps  but 
in  the  hearts  of  the  fathers  and  mothers  who  stayed  at  home.  We 
have  no  formal  record  of  the  experience  of  these  older  people,  but 
if  the  pastors  of  our  churches  could  write  the  story  of  the  last  six 
years  it  would  reinforce  our  faith  in  the  central  place  of  religion  in 
human  life,  in  the  unique  opportunity  of  the  Church  to  minister  to 
the  deeper  needs  of  men,  and  in  the  power  of  old  associations  to 
assert  themselves  in  time  of  strain.  Among  the  people  who  filled 
the  home  churches  we  find  little  desire  for  novelty,  small  trace  of 
intellectual  difficulty;  a  readiness  to  take  the  Church  at  its  face 
value  as  a  ministrant  to  the  simple  needs  of  every  day.  If  it  be 
said  that  those  who  desire  novelty  are  not  in  the  Church,  this  is 
doubtless  true.  The  significant  thing  is  that  there  are  so  many 
who  seem  satisfied  with  the  churches  as  they  are. 

'  Charles  W.  Gilkey,  "The  Local  Church  After  the  War,"  published  by  the 
Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook,  Association  Press,  New 
York,  1920. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN  27 

4.     What  American  Womanhood  is  Likely  to  Contribute  to  the 
Religion  of  the  Future 

Thus  far  we  have  been  considering  the  religion  of  the  average 
American  as  it  is  revealed  to  us  by  a  study  of  American  young 
men  and  the  kind  of  men  they  are  likely  to  grow  into  when  they 
become  older.  But  there  is  another  important  factor  which  needs  to 
be  considered,  and  that  is  the  new  attitude  of  women  toward  their 
rights  and  responsibilities — social,  economic,  political,  and  religious. 
Here  we  have  a  set  of  influences  which  are  bound  to  affect  religion 
in  novel  and  unexpected  ways.  Can  we  venture  any  prediction  as 
to  what  their  effect  will  be? 

In  the  first  place,  as  women  become  more  highly  educated,  we 
may  expect  them  to  become  more  critical  of  the  Church.  Such 
criticism,  as  we  have  already  seen,  has  been  confined  to  limited 
groups  and  has  not  as  yet  largely  affected  any  considerable  number 
of  church  members.  But  with  the  increasing  intellectual  activity  of 
women  we  must  expect  their  attitude  to  change.  In  other  walks  of 
life  we  find  women  bringing  to  the  conventional  methods  which  have 
hitherto  had  the  right  of  way  a  questioning  and  inquisitive  mind. 
Why  should  not  the  same  be  true  of  religion?  With  the  accession  of 
women  to  the  ranks  of  those  who  are  thinking  independently  about 
religion  we  should  expect  a  reinforcement  for  those  who  are  trying 
to  better  conditions  in  the  Church.^ 

This  interest  of  women  in  the  problems  of  the  Church  will  be 
particularly  valuable  because  it  is  the  reflex  of  a  parallel  process 
which  is  going  on  in  their  attitude  to  personal  religion.  Their  at- 
titude to  religion  is  a  natural  result  of  the  new  conditions  in  which 
many  of  them  are  working  side  by  side  with  men,  and  the  responsi- 
bilities which  are  being  put  upon  them.  Out  of  these  conditions 
special  questions  arise  and  a  fresh  type  of  religious  experience  is 
being  developed.  This  modern  religious  experience  must  also  be 
taken  into  account  in  any  effort  to  estimate  the  possible  contribu- 
tion of  women  to  the  future  of  religion. 

When  we  speak  of  a  new  type  of  religious  experience  we  do  not 

mean  that  we  are  to  expect  any  abrupt  break  between  women's  at- 

*  As  an  example  of  this  new  critical  attitude  of  women  toward  the  Church 
we  may  refer  to  the  stimulating  pamphlet  of  Miss  Rhoda  McCulloch,  "The 
War  and  the  Woman  Point  of  View,"  published  by  the  Committee  on  the 
War  and  the  Religious  Outlook,  Association  Press,  New  York,  1920. 


28  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

titude  to  religion  in  the  past  and  their  present  outlook.  We  mean 
simply  that  the  conditions  into  which  women  are  entering  put  upon 
their  religious  life  a  strain  which  is  bound  to  have  some  correspond- 
ing effect  on  the  type  of  their  religious  experience.  They  are  facing 
in  many  interesting  ways  that  change  from  the  older  religion  of 
authority  in  which  everything  was  taken  for  granted  and  one  did 
simply  what  one  was  told,  to  the  modern  religion  of  freedom  and 
responsibility  which  puts  questions  which  each  must  answer  for 
himself  and  lays  loads  which  cannot  be  shifted  to  other  shoulders. 
This  fact  will  make  a  study  of  the  religious  experience  of  women 
in  the  next  generation  peculiarly  instructive. 

In  a  most  interesting  and  significant  way  women  are  concen- 
trating in  a  few  brief  years  a  development  which  has  been  going  on 
in  the  race  during  many  centuries.  It  is  the  change  from  the  narrow 
and  sheltered  life  of  the  home  to  the  wider  contacts  and  more  ex- 
acting problems  of  life  in  society.  Women  are  experiencing  the 
sense  of  comradeship  and  responsibility  that  comes  through  the 
larger  life  of  business  or  politics.  To  the  old  ties  of  family  or 
friendship  they  are  adding  new  ties  of  class  or  race  or  nationality. 
This  transition  is  going  on  to-day  in  the  lives  of  millions  of  men 
and  women,  and  it  will  have  momentous  consequences  for  religion. 
Apart  from  the  simple  needs  and  experiences  which  have  hitherto 
concerned  us  and  which  together  make  up  the  religion  of  the  average 
American,  we  find  that  interests  and  problems  are  emerging  which 
affect  special  groups  and  combinations  of  people.  These  interests 
and  problems  come  to  American  women  with  peculiar  freshness  and 
power  just  because  their  life  has  been  more  sheltered  than  the  life 
of  men. 

An  inevitable  consequence  of  the  greater  independence  of  women 
will  be  to  give  them  a  larger  share  in  the  administration  and  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church.  As  the  number  of  highly  trained  and  self- 
supporting  women  has  increased  there  has  been  a  corresponding 
increase  in  the  number  of  those  available  for  active  service  in  the 
Church.  But  as  yet  this  energy  has  found  no  adequate  outlet. 
Until  recently,  with  a  few  minor  exceptions,  all  official  positions  in 
the  Protestant  churches  have  been  reserved  for  men.  But  this  was 
true  also  until  a  few  years  ago  of  the  other  learned  professions. 
When  women  were  admitted  to  the  law  and  medical  schools,  the 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN  29 

natural  consequence  was  bound  to  follow,  and  we  see  women  taking 
their  place  beside  men  at  the  bar  and  in  the  operating  room,  as 
they  had  already  made  their  presence  felt  in  business,  in  industry, 
and  in  commerce.  Is  there  any  reason  to  doubt  that  w'hat  has 
been  true  of  the  other  professions  will  prove  true  also  of  the  Church? 
Is  it  conceivable  that  woman  with  her  deeply  religious  nature  and 
her  profound  conviction  of  the  importance  of  spiritual  issues  will 
be  content  to  remain  a  mere  spectator,  a  runner  of  errands  in  the 
Church?  Here  is  a  fimd  of  trained  energy  available  for  the  highest 
form  of  service,  ready  to  be  utilized  in  a  hundred  ways,  if  those 
who  are  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  the  Church's  affairs  appre- 
ciate the  opportunity  and  provide  proper  channels  for  the  use  of  the 
powers  already  demanding  expression. 

In  the  foreign  field  this  change  is  taking  place.  The  practical 
exigencies  of  the  situation  have  made  it  necessary  to  grant  women 
a  greater  share  in  the  administration  of  the  Church's  work  than  is 
common  in  the  home  Church.  In  many  of  the  missions  women  have 
an  equal  vote  with  men  in  the  determination  of  the  affairs  of  the 
mission  and  they  are  represented  on  the  Continuation  Committees 
in  which  the  larger  questions  of  missionary  policy  are  decided. 
But  the  same  causes  which  have  produced  this  result  in  the  foreign 
field  are  beginning  to  operate  at  home,  and  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  they  will  make  their  influence  felt  in  increasing  measure 
in  the  near  future. 

Already  we  see  signs  that  the  home  Church  is  waking  up  to 
this  fact  and  is  preparing  to  make  use  of  this  unutilized  power. 
For  a  long  time  the  women  have  had  their  own  agencies  of  mis- 
sionary service.  But  their  admission  to  a  share  in  the  management 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Church  as  a  whole  is  comparatively  recent. 
The  Episcopal  Church,  to  be  sure,  has  an  order  of  deaconesses,  and 
the  same  is  true  of  the  Methodists,  but  the  proposal  to  create  this 
office  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  thus  far  been  voted  down. 
The  Methodist  Church  South  has  provided  for  women's  represen- 
tation on  its  Board  of  Missions,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  Dis- 
ciples and  the  Friends.  The  Presbyterian  Church  is  considering  sim- 
ilar provision  both  in  the  case  of  Home  and  of  Foreign  Missions. 
The  Congregationalists,  the  Baptists,  and  the  Disciples,  admit 
women  to  their  highest  representative  body,  and  the  same  is  true 


30  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  the  Methodists.^  In  the  Diocese  of  Massachusetts  a  woman  this 
year  for  the  first  time  took  part  in  the  election  of  a  Bishop.  Most 
striking  of  all  was  the  recent  action  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Con- 
vention in  electing  a  woman,  Mrs.  Montgomery,  its  president. 

It  may  well  be  that  as  a  method  of  self-education  and  discipline 
it  may  be  desirable  for  women  still  further  to  develop  their  in- 
dependent agencies  for  missionary  and  philanthropic  work.  But 
as  we  shall  see  later,  any  such  device  must  necessarily  be  temporary 
and  provisional.  The  real  unit  with  which  the  Church  deals  is  not 
man  alone,  or  woman  alone,  but  the  family,  and  to  deal  adequately 
with  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  family  men  and  women  must  co- 
operate on  equal  terms.  This  fact  must  ultimately  express  itself 
in  the  constitution  of  the  Church.  We  are  not  attempting  here  to 
forecast  what  form  that  co-operation  is  to  take,  but  simply  pointing 
out  that  in  the  capacity  of  women  for  executive  work  and  their  in- 
terest in  the  larger  questions  which  determine  the  Church's  policy, 
we  have  a  factor  which  must  be  given  serious  consideration  in  any 
attempt  to  appraise  the  present  condition  of  American  Christianity. 

This  reference  to  the  family  as  the  moral  and  spiritual  unit  sug- 
gests one  further  point  to  which  reference  must  be  made,  and  that 
is  the  strategic  position  which,  as  the  home  maker,  the  American 
woman  holds  for  the  future  of  religion.  With  the  entrance  of 
women  into  industry  and  the  extension  of  their  interest  to  other 
spheres  of  service,  there  has  been  for  the  time  being  a  shifting  of 
interest  from  that  industry  which  has  always  been  woman's  pe- 
culiar specialty;  namely,  making  the  home.  No  intelligent  student 
of  contemporary  affairs  believes  that  it  will  be  possible,  even  if  it 
were  desirable,  to  turn  the  wheels  back  and  make  women  content 
with  the  narrow  and  limited  life  which  they  once  lived.  But  it 
must  be  possible,  and  for  the  future  welfare  of  the  Church  it  is 
essential,  to  use  the  wider  training  and  insight  which  women 
are  gaining  through  their  entrance  into  the  world  of  affairs  to  make 
their  work  as  home  makers  more  eflBcient  and  successful,  and  so 
fit  them  to  become  in  the  new  age  what  they  have  been  so  conspicu- 

*  In  1904,  the  Methodist  Church  admitted  women  to  its  General  Conference. 
In  addition  women  may  serve  as  stewards,  may  act  as  trustees  for  church 
property,  and  as  presidents  of  the  Epworth  and  Junior  Leagues.  They  are 
recognized  as  members  of  the  Quarterly  Conference,  and  of  the  District  Con- 
ference, but  not  as  yet  of  the  Annual  Conference,  a  purely  ministerial  body. 
Since  1920  they  have  been  licensed  as  local  preachers. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN  31 

ously  in  the  past,  the  dominant  influence  in  forming  the  character 
and  determining  the  destiny  of  the  children  who  are  to  be  the 
makers  of  the  American  Church  of  the  future. 

5.     Changing  Conditions  Affecting  the  Religion  of  American 

Children 

With  the  mention  of  the  children  we  have  touched  the  last  of 
the  factors  to  be  considered  in  our  estimate  of  present-day  Chris- 
tianity. A  generation  is  growing  up  under  influences  the  effects 
of  which  it  is  too  early  for  us  to  forecast.  What  is  to  be  the  at- 
titude of  these  young  Americans  when  they  come  to  the  place  where 
they  must  make  up  their  own  minds,  and  choose  for  themselves? 
Will  they  repeat  the  experience  of  their  elders  whose  attitude 
toward  religion  we  have  tried  to  analyze;  or  will  the  new  factors 
at  work  produce  changes  in  their  experience,  and,  if  so,  of  what 
kind? 

Some  of  these  factors  we  can  already  distinguish,  and  they  are 
such  as  to  cause  us  grave  concern.  For  one  thing,  there  is  the 
breaking  up  of  family  life,  with  a  consequent  decay  of  religion 
within  the  home.  It  is  increasingly  true  that  if  the  children  of 
the  next  generation  are  to  be  saved  for  religion  it  is  the  Church 
which  must  save  them.  Their  fathers  and  mothers  no  longer  teach 
them  the  Bible  at  home  or  gather  them  in  the  morning  for  family 
prayers.  For  a  home  some  degree  of  permanence  is  requisite,  but 
in  America  permanence  seems  a  vanishing  art.  The  rapid  changes 
of  residence  due  to  economic  and  industrial  conditions;  the  shift- 
ing of  population  from  country  to  city;  the  increase  of  women's 
work,  particularly  in  factories,  and  other  occupations  taking  them 
from  home  many  hours  in  the  day;  the  growing  love  of  excitement; 
the  increasing  pace  at  which  life  is  lived — all  these  create  for  the 
children  of  the  next  generation  a  problem  the  like  of  which  the 
world  has  never  yet  seen. 

Into  the  causes  of  this  state  of  things  we  cannot  enter  here. 
They  are  many  and  complex.  Some  of  them  will  appear  in  the 
next  chapter.  In  part  we  may  hope  they  will  prove  temporary, 
the  natural  aftermath  of  the  Great  War  which  has  detached  so  many 
people  from  their  old  moorings  and  set  them  adrift  in  the  world. 
In  part  they  have  deeper  causes  and  are  a  result  of  the  intellectual 
and  moral  revolution  which  we  associate  with  modern  science  both 


32  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

in  its  theoretical  and  in  its  applied  forms.  The  breaking  down  of 
the  old  sanctions  of  religion  with  the  resulting  loss  of  standards  by 
which  to  judge  right  and  wrong,  the  easy  disregard  of  law  when 
individual  interest  or  taste  is  at  stake,  the  enormous  increase  in 
the  facilities  for  cheap  amusement  and  the  prevailing  tendency  to 
subordinate  duty  to  pleasure  in  the  world's  estimate  of  values — 
these  are  some  of  the  factors  which  have  helped  to  produce  the 
world  in  which  the  children  are  growing  up  with  whom  the  future 
Church  is  so  vitally  concerned. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  encouraging  factors  to  be  noted. 
We  have  gained  a  truer  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  the  child, 
and  pay  more  attention  to  his  needs  and  welfare.  Our  attitude 
toward  the  child  in  industry  is  different.  We  are  limiting  the  hours 
of  child  labor;  we  are  lengthening  the  years  of  schooling  and  im- 
proving the  instruction  given.  Increased  attention  is  being  devoted 
to  the  study  of  child  psychology,  and  this  in  turn  is  making  pos- 
sible better  methods  of  education.  In  a  word,  we  are  becoming  con- 
scious that  the  child  is  a  social  asset  whose  welfare  concerns  the 
community  as  a  whole. 

This  new  attitude  reappears  in  religious  circles.  The  concep- 
tion of  the  child  as  a  depraved  creature  who  must  run  his  course 
of  evil  before  he  can  be  won  back  to  the  Church  by  conversion  no 
longer  prevails.  Bushnell  taught  us  long  ago  that  the  child  born 
in  a  Christian  home  should  grow  up  a  Christian  as  naturally  as 
the  acorn  develops  into  the  oak.^  But  we  are  only  now  beginning 
to  draw  the  full  consequences  of  this  insight  for  religious  education. 
A  good  Sunday-school  has  long  been  regarded  as  essential  to  the 
life  of  the  Church,  and  the  number  of  children  who  are  not  reached 
by  any  formal  religious  instruction  has  been  recognized  as  a 
national  menace.  We  realize  to-day  that  it  is  not  enough  to  have 
Sunday  schools.  We  must  have  good  schools,  and  teachers  who 
know  what  children  need,  and  are  competent  to  supply  it. 

But  this  deeper  insight  into  the  spiritual  possibilities  of  the 
American  child  will  amount  to  little  unless  we  have  homes  in  which 
to  produce  Christians.  The  Church  can  do  much  to  assist  parents 
in  training  their  children  for  religion,  but  it  cannot  take  the  place 
which  God  has  assigned  to  them.    In  Christian  education  no  single 

*Cf.  his  "Christian  Nurture,"  written  in  1846. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN  33 

factor  can  operate  efifeetively.  Only  through  the  intelligent  co- 
operation of  home  and  school  and  church  can  we  hope  for  success. 
The  way  to  make  Christian  children  is  to  have  Christian  fathers 
and  mothers,  and  the  time  to  begin  making  them  is  when  they  are 
children.  We  must  keep  this  fact  constantly  in  mind  as  we  pass 
from  this  general  survey  of  the  religion  of  the  average  American 
to  a  more  detailed  study  of  particular  problems.  Though  we  may 
re-define  the  Church's  task,  we  cannot  alter  its  nature.  Now  as 
in  every  past  age  the  function  of  the  Christian  Church  is  to  win  men 
and  women  to  allegiance  to  Jesus  Christ  and  to  make  His  principles 
regnant  in  their  lives  wherever  these  lives  may  be  lived. 


CHAPTER  III 

EMERGING    PROBLEMS 

1.  New  Elements  Affecting  the  Religious  Situation — The  Shifting 
of  Population — Immigration  and  the  Negro 

Thus  far  we  have  been  considering  the  religion  of  the  average 
American— the  impression  of  the  religious  condition  of  the  country 
which  we  gain  from  a  cross-section  of  the  population — men,  women, 
and  children— without  distinction  of  occupation,  geographical  loca- 
tion, or  personal  taste  or  idiosyncrasy.  But  already  our  study  has 
brought  to  our  attention  disturbing  features  which  render  a  more 
careful  analysis  necessary.  There  are  large  groups  whose  attitude 
toward  religion  would  not  be  correctly  represented  by  the  preceding 
description,  and  there  are  widespread  influences  operating  on  the 
country  at  large  which  are  producing  changes  in  the  existing  situa- 
tion and  are  likely  to  do  so  to  an  increasing  degree.  These  new 
influences  we  have  now  to  consider. 

Some  of  them  we  have  already  briefly  referred  to:  the  changing 
conditions  under  which  people  are  living;  the  rapid  shifting  of 
population  from  country  to  city,  with  its  consequence  in  the  growth 
of  great  cities,  and  the  denuding  of  the  country  districts  and  the 
smaller  communities.  With  the  economic  effects  of  this  change 
we  are  already  familiar,  but  the  spiritual  consequences  are  even 
more  serious.  It  produces  a  sense  of  instability  which  prevents  the 
formation  of  permanent  attachments.  Like  the  ancient  Arab,  the 
modern  American  is  a  dweller  in  tents,  or,  what  comes  to  the  same 
thing,  in  trunks.  New  York  City  is  only  the  most  conspicuous 
example  of  a  tendency  which  is  nation-wide.  Its  buildings  are 
being  continually  torn  down  to  be  replaced  by  new  ones,  and  while 
in  use  are  occupied  by  a  ceaseless  stream  of  tenants.  At  whichever 
extreme  we  take  our  point  of  observation  the  result  is  the  same. 
Twenty-seven  years  ago  the  author  was  a  member  of  a  committee 
to  choose  a  site  for  the  proposed  Union  Settlement  on  the  upper 
East  Side.    Wandering  through  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Street  he 

34 


EMERGING  PROBLEMS  35 

questioned  a  man  standing  at  the  door  of  a  tenement:  "What  can 
you  tell  me  of  this  neighborhood?"  "You  have  come  to  the  right 
man,"  was  the  answer.  "I  have  lived  here  longer  than  any  one 
else."  "And  how  long  may  that  be?"  "Three  years."  When  the 
corner-stone  of  the  new  buildings  of  Union  Theological  Seminary 
was  laid  on  Lenox  Hill  in  1884,  Dr.  Hitchcock,  then  president,  con- 
gratulated the  institution  on  having  at  last  acquired  a  permanent 
home.  To-day  not  one  stone  of  the  old  buildings  remains  upon 
another.  The  eternity  to  which  the  eloquent  speaker  looked  for- 
ward was  in  fact  less  than  thirty  years. 

The  difficulty  which  results  from  this  incessant  change  is  mag- 
nified by  the  character  of  the  units  which  are  changing.  From  the 
first,  different  strands  have  entered  into  the  making  of  the  American 
people,  and  in  recent  years  the  complexity  of  our  population  has 
enormously  increased.  Immigration  has  been  pouring  into  the  coun- 
try year  by  year  streams  of  people,  ignorant  of  our  language,  our 
traditions,  and  our  ideals,  attracted  to  us  by  the  promise  of 
higher  wages,  greater  comfort;  but,  above  all,  larger  freedom.  At 
first  drawn  largely  from  the  British  Isles  and  central  Europe,  they 
now  come  from  Russia  and  the  Balkans,  as  well  as  from  the  Near 
and  the  Far  East.  Calling  upon  the  Protestant  pastor  at  Baalbek 
in  Syria  twenty  years  ago  I  was  accosted  in  good  English  by  the  wife 
of  the  local  Greek  priest.  She  had  spent  five  years  in  New  York  as 
a  peddler  on  the  lower  East  Side,  and  she  was  expecting  to  return. 
It  was  a  hope  that  seemed  in  every  one's  mind.  The  man  who  drove 
my  camel  in  Egypt  begged  me  to  take  him  back  to  America,  "the 
land  of  unlimited  possibilities." 

With  the  consequences  of  this  migration  of  the  peoples  we  are 
only  too  familiar.  Foreign  cities  have  been  growing  up  in  the  heart 
of  America,  preserving  in  language,  customs,  and  ideals  the  habits 
of  the  country  from  which  they  came.  New  York  has  its  Ghetto, 
its  Little  Italy,  its  Chinatown,  its  Bohemia,  its  Hungary.  It  has 
its  Greek  coffee-houses,  and  its  Syrian  restaurants  where  the  new- 
comer may  fraternize  with  men  from  his  own  country.  In 
Harlem,  which  was  yesterday  a  white  man's  city,  one  hundred 
thousand  Negroes  now  make  their  homes.  It  is  the  same  on  a 
lesser  scale  the  country  over.  A  single  ward  of  San  Francisco  con- 
tains thirty  thousand  Italians.  In  New  Britain,  Connecticut,  a  city 
of  forty  thousand  people,  twenty-six  different  languages  are  spoken- 


36  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

At  the  Student's  Cosmopolitan  Club  ^  in  New  York  City  one  can 
meet  students  of  sixty-five  nationalities. 

The  war  awakened  us  to  the  extent  to  which  we  had  become 
a  nation  of  nations.  We  discovered  the  foreign-language  press.* 
We  learned  how  many  of  our  foreign-born  fellow  Americans  re- 
mained loyal  to  the  country  of  their  birth.  But  we  learned  also 
how  effectively  the  great  majority  had  been  won  to  a  new  allegiance. 
The  comrades  in  arms  of  our  soldiers  of  foreign  birth  know  how 
completely  many  of  them  identified  themselves  with  the  objects  for 
which  they  were  fighting;  how  truly  America  represented  to  them 
the  cause  of  human  liberty  and  progress. 

In  1915,  there  was  organized  in  the  Labor  Temple  of  New  York 
City  the  American  International  Church.  Five  different  nationali- 
ties were  represented  in  the  services,  and  five  different  languages 
were  used  in  the  worship.  Besides  English-speaking  Americans 
there  were  Italians,  Russians,  Hungarians,  and  Galicians.  Their 
fellow-countrymen  were  fighting  on  opposite  sides  in  the  Great  War 
— Italian  and  Russian  against  Hungarian  and  Galician — yet  here 
they  met  on  equal  terms,  as  members  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Of  special  interest  to  the  student  of  church  affairs  are  two  races 
whose  presence  within  our  borders  presents  peculiar  problems,  the 
Japanese  of  California,  and  the  Mexicans  who  during  these  years 
of  revolution  have  been  pouring  across  our  southern  border  in 
large  numbers.  Most  Americans  know  something  of  the  crisis 
caused  by  the  presence  of  the  Japanese  on  the  west  coast;  but  few 
Americans  realize  the  gravity  of  the  situation  caused  by  the  huge 
Mexican  immigration  of  recent  years.  While  no  definite  figures  are 
obtainable,  the  most  reliable  estimates  available  put  the  number 
of  Mexicans  now  in  this  country  at  about  a  million  and  a  half,^  and 
already  the  question  as  to  what  can  be  done  to  assimilate  them  and 
fit  them  to  become  worthy  citizens  of  the  country  in  which  they 
have  found  a  home  has  become  a  pressing  one. 

Most  serious  of  all  in  its  magnitude  and  complexity  is  the  prob- 

*A  club  on  Morningside  Heights,  which  brings  together  the  foreign  stu- 
dents of  Columbia  University  and  the  affiliated  institutions. 

'  At  a  single  news-stand  on  East  Forty-second  Street  you  may  buy  any 
morning  a  daily  in  any  one  of  the  following  languages:  Spanish,  French,  Ger- 
man, Russian,  Ukrainian,  Greek,  Slovak,  Italian,  Hungarian,  and  in  many 
cases  you  may  choose  between  two  or  three. 

'  Cf .  Stowell,  "The  Near  Side  of  the  Mexican  Question,"  New  York,  1921. 


EMERGING  PROBLEMS  37 

lem  of  the  American  Negro.  A  dozen  years  ago  we  thought  of  this 
as  a  Southern  problem,  but  to-day  we  realize  that  it  has  become 
a  national  one;  for  the  Negro,  as  little  as  the  Italian,  or  the  Slav, 
is  content  to  remain  in  the  situation  in  which  his  father  left  him. 
He,  too,  aspires  to  better  himself  in  respect  to  property,  education, 
and  social  standing.  So  great  Negro  communities  are  growing  up 
in  our  Northern  cities,  and  the  problems  with  which  we  have  become 
familiar  in  the  South  are  repeating  themselves  on  a  smaller  but  still 
unmistakable  scale  in  the  North.  Here,  too,  the  problem  is  not 
simply  economic  and  social,  but  in  its  deepest  sense  personal  and 
religious.  What  do  we  propose  to  do  with  these  black  fellow- 
citizens  of  ours,  brought  here  generations  ago  without  their  consent, 
but  now  linked  to  us  by  an  indissoluble  bond?  One  thing  is  certain, 
that  the  old  attitude  of  subjection  and  docility  inherited  from  the 
days  of  slavery  has  gone,  never  to  return.  The  war  taught  the 
Negro  that  he  was  good  enough  to  fight  for  his  country  by  the  side 
of  the  white  man.  Now  he  asks  his  country  what  sort  of  life 
he  is  to  live  with  his  white  brothers  since  the  war  has  been  won. 

2.     The  Effect  of  Modem  Industry — The  Growth  of  Class 
Consciousness 

These  more  obvious  difl5culties  of  residence  and  race  are  accen- 
tuated by  serious  problems  growing  out  of  the  economic  and  indus- 
trial situation.  The  rise  of  big  business  with  its  attendant  factory 
system  is  itself  one  of  the  causes  of  the  complications  which  we  have 
been  considering,  but  it  brings  with  it  other  and  more  far-reaching 
consequences. 

We  have  spoken  of  changes  in  habits  of  life — of  the  breaking  up 
of  the  family,  due  to  the  lack  of  permanent  homes;  of  the  uncer- 
tainty of  employment,  due  to  the  fluctuation  of  supply  and  demand; 
of  the  entrance  of  women  and  children  into  industry.  But  all  these 
are  but  symptoms  of  something  deeper,  a  change  in  the  attitude  of 
mind  on  the  part  of  large  numbers  of  people  toward  those  earlier 
democratic  ideals  of  liberty  and  equality  which  are  celebrated  in 
the  school  books  as  peculiarly  American,  and  which  gave  their  tone 
to  the  America  of  an  earlier  day.  For  many  people  in  this  country 
those  ideals  have  vanished,  or  are  vanishing.  In  their  place  we 
find  the  growth  of  a  class  consciousness  which  puts  the  group  before 
the  individual  and  is  jealous  of  any  advance  that  carries  the  favored 


38  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

few  beyond  their  less  able  or  gifted  comrades.  Any  position  in  the 
commonwealth  was  open  to  the  traditional  schoolboy.  But  many 
thoughtful  people  in  the  ranks  of  labor  no  longer  believe  this  to 
be  the  case.  They  have  accepted  the  philosophy  of  class  with  all 
that  this  implies.  They  do  not  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  them 
to  be  anything  else  than  what  they  are,  nor  do  they  desire  it. 

We  often  meet  Americans  who  deprecate  the  existence  of  class 
consciousness  and  try  to  ignore  it.  They  would  like  to  think  that 
America  is  still  the  land  which  they  believe  that  it  ought  to  be ;  the 
land  which  they  have  found  it  to  be  in  their  personal  experience.  It 
is  natural  that  they  should  cherish  this  wish,  but  it  is  dangerous  to 
let  our  eyes  be  blinded  to  the  fact  that  for  multitudes  this  America 
no  longer  exists.  If  there  are  no  classes  in  America,  it  is  true  that 
there  are  many  people  who  think  that  classes  exist,  and  who  shape 
their  lives  accordingly, 

A  conspicuous  example  of  class  consciousness  is  the  labor  union. 
Both  in  its  craft  form  as  represented  in  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor,  and  in  its  industrial  form,  as  represented  by  the  Amalga- 
mated Garment  Workers  and  similar  unions,  its  leaders  accept  the 
conventional  division  of  mankind  into  capitalists  and  laborers,  and 
devote  their  energy  to  increasing  the  rewards  and  improving  the 
condition  of  the  latter.^  This  is  quite  consistent  with  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  fact  that  the  contrast  is  not  an  exclusive  one;  that  the 
laborer  may  be  a  capitalist  to  a  certain  extent,  and  the  capitalist 
may  contribute  his  share  of  useful  work.  But  this  recognition  can 
not  obscure  the  fact  that  the  livelihood  of  great  numbers  of  men  and 
women  depends  and,  so  far  as  we  or  they  can  see,  will  always  depend 
upon  the  wages  they  earn;  just  as  there  are  many  who  need  never 
work  at  all  unless  they  desire  to,  but  may  live  at  ease  upon  the  in- 

*  While  many  of  the  older  unions,  particularly  those  connected  with  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  are  conservative  in  their  view  of  the  relations 
between  capital  and  labor,  emphasizing  their  common  interest  in  the  industry 
which  both  alike  serve,  not  a  few  of  the  more  recent  unions,  particularly  of 
the  industrial  form,  have  embodied  the  doctrine  of  the  class  war  in  the  pream- 
ble of  their  constitutions.  The  most  radical  statement  of  this  doctrine  is  that 
of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World. 

"The  working  class  and  the  employing  class  have  nothing  in  common.  .  .  . 
Between  these  two  classes  a  struggle  must  go  on  until  the  workers  of  the 
world  organize  as  a  class,  take  possession  of  the  earth  and  the  machinery  of 
production,  and  abolish  the  wage  system." 


EMERGING  PROBLEMS  39 

come  of  their  capital,  and  pass  on  the  possibility  of  a  similar  life 
to  their  children. 

The  labor  movement  in  all  its  forms  takes  this  fact  for  granted, 
and  builds  upon  it  not  only  a  certain  method  of  procedure,  but, 
what  is  more  important,  a  definite  philosophy  of  life.  It  is  a 
philosophy  in  which  loyalty  to  class  is  the  major  virtue,  and  the 
scab  (or  the  man  who  seeks  private  advancement  at  the  cost  of  his 
class)  is  the  incarnation  of  all  the  vices. 

It  must  be  added  that  such  class  consciousness  is  not  confined 
to  the  workingman.  There  are  employers  of  labor  who  share  it  to 
the  full.  To  them  it  seems  natural  that  the  few  should  command, 
and  the  many  obey;  and  labor,  instead  of  being  the  sum  total  of 
aspiring,  hoping,  suffering  human  beings,  is  a  group  which  cherishes 
ambitions  to  which  it  has  no  right,  and  must  be  taught  its  place. 

This  rivalry,  implicit  in  the  present  relation  of  capital  and 
labor,  is  deliberately  and  cleverly  reinforced  by  the  propaganda 
of  the  radicals.  This  propaganda  takes  many  forms  according  to 
the  school  which  it  represents.  Its  more  conservative  form  is  rep- 
resented by  the  orthodox  Socialists;  its  more  extreme  form  by  the 
communism  of  Lenine  and  Trotzky.  The  Industrial  Workers  of  the 
World,  with  their  repudiation  of  state  socialism,  and  their  theory 
of  the  One  Big  Union,  are  especially  significant  because  of  the  field 
in  which  they  operate.  A  less  radical  variant  is  Guild  Socialism, 
which  advocates  the  control  of  each  industry  as  a  whole  by  the 
workers,  while  vesting  the  ownership  of  the  industry  in  the  state. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  extent  or  the  influence  of  this 
radical  propaganda.  According  to  the  Lusk  Committee,^  it  is  suffi- 
ciently extensive  and  influential  to  make  legislative  inquiry  neces- 
sary.^ Other  informants  who  have  every  motive  to  emphasize 
the  strength  of  the  radical  forces  wherever  they  can  discover  them, 
are  convinced  that  the  radicals  have  thus  far  made  little  progress, 

*The  Lusk  Committee  is  a  committee  appointed  by  the  legislature  of  the 
State  of  New  York  "to  investigate  the  scope,  tendencies,  and  ramifications 
of  .  .  .  seditious  activities  and  to  report  the  result  of  its  investigation  to  the 
Legislature."    Its  report  of  4450  pages  in  four  volumes  was  issued  in  1920. 

'Cf.  "Resolution  Authorizing  the  Investigation  of  Seditious  Activities." 
"It  is  a  matter  of  public  knowledge  that  there  is  a  large  number  of  persons 
within  the  State  of  New  York  engaged  in  circulating  propaganda  calculated  to 
set  in  motion  forces  to  overthrow  the  Government  of  this  State  and  of  the 
United  States,"  p.  L 


40  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

and  that  the  great  body  of  the  American  labor  movement,  like  the 
nation  of  which  it  is  a  part,  is  conservative.  Certainly  if  deeds 
are  to  be  the  judge  rather  than  words,  there  is  little  reason  for  alarm, 
provided  our  national  industrial  policies  are  sane,  just,  and  progres- 
sive. But  discontent  thrives  on  repression,  and  if  our  reactionaries 
have  their  way,  they  may  yet  succeed  in  bringing  about  the  con- 
sequences they  profess  to  fear. 

One  fact  concerning  the  radical  movement  deserves  serious  con- 
sideration. It  knows  what  it  believes  and  why.  It  has  a  gospel  to 
preach,  and  it  preaches  it  in  the  only  way  in  which  any  gospel  can 
be  preached,  by  the  personal  communication  of  man  to  man.  It  has 
its  press  and  its  schools,  and  whether  we  like  it  or  not,  it  is  teaching 
men  to  think  who  never  thought  before.  Worthy  of  serious  consid- 
eration is  the  following  remark  made  in  my  hearing  by  a  well-known 
agitator  of  the  I.  W.  W.,  who  had  spent  many  months  in  jail.  "You 
may  say  what  you  like  about  the  I.  W.  W.  But  you  cannot  rob  us 
of  this,  that  we  were  the  first  people  to  put  a  social  conscience 
into  the  casual  laborer." 

In  the  radical  labor  movement,  as  in  the  race  movement  to 
which  we  have  already  referred,  we  have  a  point  of  contact  with 
the  wider  world  of  international  affairs.  For  America,  as  for  all 
the  other  countries  of  the  world,  the  great  experiment  which  is 
being  tried  in  Russia  has  been  of  crucial  importance.  As  long  as 
it  was  possible  to  represent  this  as  a  glowing  success,  our  radicals 
were  in  possession  of  ammunition  of  which  they  knew  how  to  make 
good  use.  Now  that  the  weakness  and  probable  ultimate  failure  of 
the  Russian  revolutionary  programme  has  become  apparent,  the 
conservative  element  in  the  labor  movement  has  been  correspond- 
ingly strengthened. 

3.    Resulting  Changes  in  the  Church's  Missionary  Task 

Our  intention  is  not  to  describe  the  present  condition  of  the 
labor  movement,  but  to  sketch  briefly  the  conditions  which  the 
Church  must  face  under  the  conditions  of  the  new  day.  It  is 
evident  that  these  conditions  are  extraordinarily  complex,  necessitat- 
ing many  changes  from  the  organization  and  methods  of  a  simpler 
age.^ 

^  Cf.  W.  P.  Shriver,  "The  New  Home  Mission  of  the  Church,"  Committee 
on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook,  Association  Press,  New  York,  1919. 


EMERGING  PROBLEMS  41 

One  of  the  cherished  traditions  of  the  author's  family  is  of 
John  Adams,  once  headmaster  of  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  who 
in  his  old  age  accepted  service  under  the  American  Sunday-School 
Union  and  went  out  in  his  buggy  through  the  newly  settled  districts 
of  Illinois,  bringing  the  people  into  the  schoolhouse  and  organizing 
Sunday  schools  which  later  grew  into  churches.  During  the  twelve 
years  of  his  service  he  organized  no  less  than  three  hundred  and 
twenty-two  schools  with  more  than  twenty-five  hundred  teachers 
and  brought  under  the  influence  of  the  Christian  religion  more  than 
sixteen  thousand  scholars.^ 

It  is  a  typical  picture  of  the  life  of  the  old-time  home  missionary, 
at  once  strenuous  and  simple.  Our  haunting  problems  of  the  why 
and  the  how  were  unknown  to  him.  His  duty  was  to  take  the 
Gospel,  which  all  Christian  people  accepted,  from  the  eastern  and 
central  parts  of  the  country  which  were  already  adequately 
churched,  to  the  frontier,  ever  pressing  westward,  in  order  that  these 
new  churches  in  turn,  when  they  were  strong  enough  to  support 
themselves,  might  take  up  the  work  of  home  missions  for  the  regions 
farther  west. 

How  different  is  the  situation  to-day!  How  different  it  is  in 
extent!  No  single  part  of  our  country  is  home-missionary  terri- 
tory to  the  exclusion  of  the  rest.  Everywhere  we  face  the  same 
problem  of  an  unchurched  population;  in  the  East  as  well  as  in 
the  West;  in  the  city  as  well  as  in  the  country.  Indeed,  there  is  a 
sense  in  which  New  York  City  itself  is  the  greatest  home-mission 
field  in  the  world.  Our  task  is  not  to  plant  a  few  home-mission 
churches  in  frontier  states  where  they  will  presently  grow  to  self- 
support.  It  is  to  mobilize  all  the  resources  of  the  Church  for  the 
Christianization  of  the  country  as  a  whole. 

Nor  is  the  change  simply  in  the  range,  but  also  in  the  nature 
of  the  task.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  converting  individuals  simply, 
but  of  changing  their  envirormient.  The  social  consciousness, 
which  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  note  in  connection  with  the 
woman  movement  and  the  labor  movement,  has  pervaded  home 
missions  as  well.  We  see  that  we  have  to  deal  not  simply  with 
individuals  as  individuals  but  with  members  of  definite  and  sharply 
contrasted  groups,  each  with  its  own  background  of  race,  religion, 

'  M.  E.  and  H.  G.  Brown,  "The  Story  of  a  New  England  Schoolmaster," 
New  York,  1900. 


42  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

economic  and  political  ideals.  We  must  study  these  ideals  if  we 
are  to  understand  the  people  who  cherish  them,  and  this  requires  a 
much  more  elaborate  preparation  than  the  buggy  and  the  Bible 
which  were  once  the  sufficient  stock  in  trade  of  the  successful 
missionary. 

These  new  demands  require  far-reaching  changes  in  organiza- 
tion. We  shall  later  on  study  these  changes  more  in  detail.^  We 
notice 'now  that  they  involve  a  growing  specialization.  Depart- 
ments are  created  for  the  study  of  special  phases  of  the  work.  Sur- 
veys are  made  to  serve  as  the  basis  of  intelligent  planning.  The 
relation  to  the  home  church  is  being  re-studied.  It  is  clear  that 
the  time  has  come  when  we  must  re-define  the  responsibility  of  the 
national  boards  to  those  smaller  and  self-supporting  units  like  the 
diocese,  the  classis,  and  the  presbytery,  which  we  have  hitherto 
been  in  the  habit  of  regarding  as  independent  and  self-sufficient. 

Above  all,  we  are  coming  to  see  the  importance  of  sound  meth- 
ods of  education.  As  in  all  teaching,  the  point  of  contact  is  the 
key  to  mastery.  In  the  case  of  the  people  we  have  been  trying  to 
describe,  this  requires  constant  study  and  experiment. 

4.    Emerging  Problems — The  Problems  of  Race,  of  Class,  and 

of  Nationality 

In  the  course  of  this  study  of  the  new  home  missions  three  major 
problems  have  emerged,  the  understanding  of  which  is  essential  for 
the  definition  of  the  future  task  of  the  Church:  the  problem  of  race, 
the  problem  of  class,  the  problem  of  nationality. 

In  the  first  place,  the  problem  of  race.  What  ought  to  be  the 
attitude  of  the  Christian  to  these  deep-seated  differences  which  we 
have  passed  in  review?  In  what  sense  ought  the  Church  to  recog- 
nize race  as  a  fundamental  fact,  to  be  taken  account  of  and  provided 
for  in  our  planning?  What  ought  to  be  the  Church's  attitude  to 
these  new  Americans  coming  to  us  as  prospective  citizens,  yet  still 
cherishing  affection  and  loyalty  for  the  land  that  gave  them  birth? 
Shall  we  discourage  this  loyalty  and  affection,  or  shall  we  see  'in 
it  an  asset  to  be  used  in  the  making  of  a  better  America?  What 
shall  we  do  with  the  languages  they  speak,  with  their  literature, 
their  art,  their  religion?  Can  we  use  these  as  helps  to  the  building 
of  a  finer  character  than  could  otherwise  have  been  attained?    And 

'  Cf .  Chapter  XII. 


EMERGING  PROBLEMS  43 

if  so,  how?  How,  in  a  word,  in  this  most  difficult  and  baffling  field, 
shall  we  realize  the  Christian  ideal  of  unity  in  variety — the  body 
with  the  many  members? 

The  problem  presses  most  heavily  in  connection  with  that  race 
which  forms  so  substantial  a  part  of  our  population — the  Amer- 
ican Negro.  How  shall  we  treat  these  ten  millions  whose  lives 
are  so  inextricably  intertwined  with  ours,  and  who  are  increasing 
in  numbers  every  day?  To  our  Christian  faith  they  are  sons  and 
daughters  of  God  our  Father,  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour, 
potential  citizens  in  the  Kingdom  of  God.  How  shall  we  express 
this  faith  in  the  practice  of  our  American  church?  How  far  is  the 
current  practice  of  race  segregation  consistent  with  Christian  prin- 
ciples? If  not,  in  what  respects  should  it  be  changed,  and  what 
steps  should  be  taken  to  bring  this  change  about? 

These  are  not  simply  theoretical  questions.  They  meet  us  in 
practical  forms  which  cannot  be  evaded.  The  doctrine  of  inherent 
race  rivalry  preached  by  such  books  as  the  recent  "Rising  Tide  of 
Color"  ^  is  given  practical  effect  in  the  conduct  of  multitudes  of 
men;  and  here  again,  since  we  meet  not  simply  the  clash  of  practical 
interests  but  the  strife  of  ideals,  the  Church  has  a  stake  in  the  mat- 
ter. It  is  the  Church's  responsibility,  if  not  to  settle  all  the  ques- 
tions at  issue,  at  least  to  lay  down  the  principles  by  which  they  can 
be  rightly  settled,  and  what  is  even  more  important,  to  create  the 
atmosphere  in  which  the  desire  to  settle  them  rightly  can  be  bom. 

Secondly,  the  problem  of  class.  What  shall  be  our  attitude  to 
the  questions  at  issue  between  capital  and  labor?  How  far  does  the 
class  consciousness  which  we  have  above  briefly  described  represent 
a  fact  of  human  nature,  of  which  honesty  compels  us  to  take  ac- 
count? How  is  it  to  be  reconciled  with  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  and  the  infinite  worth  of  each  human  soul?  It 
will  not  do  to  say  that  these  are  economic  and  industrial  questions 
with  which  the  Church  as  such  has  nothing  to  do;  for  the  funda- 
mental fact  about  the  labor  movement  is  not  economic  but  spiritual. 
It  is  an  attitude  of  mind  with  which  we  are  confronted,  a  philosophy 

'Stoddard,  "The  Rising  Tide  of  Color  against  White  World  Supremacy," 
New  York,  1920.  Cf.  especially  this  sentence  from  Mr.  Madison  Grant's 
preface:  "Democratic  ideals  among  an  homogeneous  population  of  Nordic 
blood,  as  in  England  or  America,  is  one  thing,  but  it  is  quite  another  for  the 
white  man  to  share  his  blood  with,  or  entrust  his  ideals  to,  brown,  yellow, 
black,  or  red  men."     (Italics  are  author's.) 


44  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  life;  an  attitude  and  a  philosophy  which  call  forth  loyalty  and 
devotion  in  many  who  hold  them  which  can  only  be  described  as 
religious.  How  far  are  the  new  forces  which  this  movement  has 
released  hostile  to  Christianity?  How  far  are  they  merely  the 
expression  in  a  different  form  of  the  same  social  forces  and  spiritual 
aspirations  of  which  the  Gospel  was  bom?  What  has  the  Church  to 
offer  the  leaders  of  this  movement?  What,  on  its  part,  can  it  learn 
from  them? 

Many  radicals  maintain  that  the  Church  has  been  in  the  past, 
and  still  remains,  an  organ  of  privilege.  They  look  upon  it  as  the 
rich  man's  club  or,  if  not  that,  at  least  the  almoner  of  his  bounty. 
They  insist  that  it  is  committed  to  the  maintenance  of  the  present 
capitalistic  system.  At  its  best  it  is  concerned  with  individual  and 
personal  matters,  preaching  a  religion  of  contentment  here  in  hope 
of  a  better  world  to  come  by  and  by.^  We  cannot  allow  this  picture 
of  the  Church  to  go  unchallenged.  But  a  mere  denial  will  not  be 
enough.  We  must  show  men  the  alternatives  which  we  have  to 
offer,  and  we  must  show  them  these  alternatives  so  clearly  that  they 
will  be  understood. 

Finally,  there  is  the  problem  of  nationality,  in  many  respects 
the  most  urgent  and  the  most  baffling  of  all.  What  shall  be  the 
attitude  of  the  Church  to  the  wave  of  patriotism  which  is  sweeping 
over  America,  as  it  is  sweeping  over  all  the  other  nations  of  the 
world?  How  far  is  patriotism  a  Christian  virtue?  How  shall  we 
reconcile  the  internationalism  of  the  Gospel  with  the  emotions  which 
every  true  American  feels  when  he  looks  up  at  the  Stars  and  Stripes? 

The  question  meets  us  in  a  hundred  forms.  It  is  implicit  in 
almost  every  decision  that  we  make.  No  vote  we  cast,  no  busi- 
ness transaction  in  which  we  engage  but  forces  us  to  consider — if 
indeed  it  does  not  determine  for  us  without  consideration — how  far 
we  have  a  right  to  treat  our  country  as  ours  alone,  how  far  it  is 
our  duty  to  consider  the  needs  and  aspirations  of  other  lands. 

The  Christian  view  of  nationality  lies  at  the  heart  of  the 
tariff  question,  the  immigration  question,  the  question  of  our  mercan- 
tile marine.  Our  fathers  came  to  this  country  as  exiles  and  refugees 
to  seek  freedom  of  conscience,  and  a  place  in  which  to  worship  God 

*  A  sympathetic  interpretation  of  the  radical  point  of  view  is  given  by  J.  J. 
Coale,  in  his  article,  "Protestantism  and  the  Masses,"  Yale  Review,  October, 
1921. 


EMERGING  PROBLEMS  45 

in  their  own  way.  But  there  are  still  countries  where  people  are 
oppressed  and  where  men  are  denied  the  right  to  worship  God  as 
their  conscience  dictates.  Has  the  time  indeed  come  when  the 
refuge  America  offered  to  our  fathers  can  rightly  be  denied  to  these 
other  oppressed  and  needy  children  of  God,  for  whom  He  cares  as 
truly  as  for  us? 

The  same  issue  meets  us  in  our  foreign  relations.  Senator 
and  ambassador  may  repeat  Cain's  ancient  question:  "Am  I  my 
brother's  keeper?"  But  we  are  learning  that  blood  brotherhood  is 
a  tie  which  cannot  so  easily  be  severed.  We  may  try  to  ignore 
Europe,  but  Europe  will  not  ignore  us.  Evade  the  issue  as  we  may, 
we  shall  find  that  our  very  denial  of  international  responsibilities 
brings  us  face  to  face  with  international  dangers.  What  is  there  in 
this  fact  of  nationality  that  seems  to  lead  so  inevitably  to  conflict 
with  men  who  ask  only  the  right  to  feel  toward  their  own  country 
as  we  feel  toward  ours?  The  Church  has  something  to  say  about 
this  conflict  of  patriotisms.  It  has  a  loyalty  to  offer  which  makes 
place  for  all  the  lesser  loyalties  of  race  and  class  and  nation.  It 
opens  a  horizon  which  carries  us  beyond  the  confines  of  our  country 
and  requires  us  to  envisage  the  world  as  a  whole. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    WIDER    OUTLOOK 

1.    Chief  Points  of  Contact  between  American  Christianity 
and  International  Problems 

Thus  far  we  have  been  analyzing  the  task  of  the  American 
Church  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  homeland,  for  whose  Christian- 
ization  we  are  primarily  responsible.  We  have  studied  the  religion 
of  the  average  American,  as  it  is  revealed  to  us  in  the  life  of  the 
young  men  gathered  in  the  camps  by  the  military  draft  and  in  the 
experience  of  the  fathers  and  mothers  from  whose  homes  they  came. 
We  have  taken  into  account  the  exceptional  groups  whose  changing 
occupation  forces  them  into  new  conditions;  children  facing  the 
disintegration  of  the  home ;  women  entering  industry  in  ever  larger 
numbers,  and  sharing  for  the  first  time  the  responsibilities  and 
problems  of  men;  immigrants  introducing  into  the  relatively  homo- 
geneous life  of  the  older  America  new  factors  of  language  and  of 
tradition ;  the  labor  movement  with  its  growing  class  consciousness, 
and  its  challenge  to  the  older  theory  of  American  democracy.  Out  of 
this  situation  we  have  seen  three  problems  emerging  with  which 
the  Church  of  the  future  must  deal:  the  problem  of  race,  the  prob- 
lem of  class,  and  the  problem  of  nationality.  But  these  are  not 
problems  confined  to  any  one  country  or  to  any  one  branch  of  the 
Church.  To  approach  them  understandingly  we  must  see  them  in 
their  larger  setting,  as  they  affect  other  nations  than  our  own. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  war  the  author's  work  as  Secretary 
of  the  General  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches  took  him  to 
the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  which  had  been  transformed  into  a  naval 
training  station.  In  company  with  the  resident  chaplain  he  visited 
the  men's  barracks  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  new  recruits, 
clean,  manly-looking  fellows  of  whom  any  country  might  be  proud. 
But  what  impressed  him  most  was  the  fact  that  they  had  come 
so  largely  from  the  fresh-water  states.  Many  of  them  had  never 
seen  the  sea.    To  most  of  them,  enlistment  brought  the  first  oppor- 

46 


THE  WIDER  OUTLOOK  47 

tunity  to  leave  their  own  country  and  touch  the  wider  world  of 
which  America  is  a  part. 

What  was  true  of  the  navy  was  true  on  a  far  larger  scale  of 
the  army.  The  war  carried  to  the  remotest  hamlet  of  the  nation 
the  news  that  America  was  no  longer  an  isolated  country,  but  a 
member  of  the  family  of  nations,  linked  to  the  fortunes  of  her 
sisters  across  the  sea  by  indissoluble  ties  and  prepared,  if  need  be, 
to  spend  all  that  she  had  in  a  contest  which  was  fought  three  thou- 
sand miles  from  her  own  shores. 

To  millions  of  Americans  this  was  a  revolutionary  experience. 
The  war  brought  a  rude  shock  to  their  former  preconceptions  and 
habits.  Even  when  they  were  convinced  that  it  was  inevitable  and 
had  resigned  themselves  to  do  what  was  necessary  to  bring  it  to  a 
successful  conclusion,  they  could  not  shake  off  the  conviction  that 
it  was,  after  all,  but  an  episode.  When  peace  came,  or  at  all  events 
very  soon  after,  they  were  confident  that  the  nation  could  resume 
its  interrupted  occupations  where  they  had  been  broken  off,  keep  its 
sons  at  home,  and  leave  Europe  to  deal  with  its  own  difficulties. 
It  was  this  widely  spread  feeling  which  made  it  possible  for  a  little 
group  in  the  Senate  to  block  President  Wilson's  attempt  to  secure 
the  whole-hearted  co-operation  of  the  American  people  in  the  task 
of  international  reconstruction.  Only  slowly  and  by  a  process 
of  education  which  will  take  wisdom  and  patience  can  the  country 
as  a  whole  be  brought  to  realize  that  what  has  happened  is  not 
an  episode,  but  only  the  last  and  most  dramatic  chapter  of  a  history 
which  reaches  back  to  the  beginnings  of  the  nation's  life. 

Long  before  the  first  troops  of  the  American  Expeditionary 
Force  took  ship  for  France,  others  of  their  fellow-countrymen  had 
preceded  them  in  international  enterprises.  Some  of  them  had  gone 
in  quest  of  trade,  like  the  early  merchants  whose  admission  to  Japan 
was  made  possible  by  the  peaceful  embassage  of  Commodore  Perry. 
Others  had  been  moved  by  missionary  zeal,  like  the  Williams  Col- 
lege students  who  went  from  their  meeting  by  the  haystack  to 
win  the  world  for  Christ.  Still  others  went  in  search  of  learning 
or  art,  or  in  the  simple  human  desire  to  relieve  suffering.  All 
through  our  national  history  in  varying  degrees  these  motives  have 
been  operating,  and  the  experiences  gained  and  the  contacts  formed 
in  these  ways  have  helped  to  prepare  America  to  meet  under- 
standingly  the  new  problems  and  responsibilities  which  she  faces 


48  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

to-day.  Of  the  many  points  of  contact  between  our  own  country 
and  other  nations  two  have  special  importance  for  our  present  pur- 
pose: that  furnished  by  foreign  missions  in  the  widest  sense  of  that 
term,  and  the  more  recent  appeal  made  to  the  sympathies  of  the 
American  public  by  the  suffering  which  was  the  aftermath  of  the 
war. 

2.    Foreign  Missions,  a  Factor  in  Educating  America 
for  Internationalism 

The  most  direct  point  of  contact  between  American  Christianity 
and  the  outside  world  before  the  war  was  the  foreign-missionary 
enterprise.  Through  this  enterprise  generations  of  Americans  had 
been  educated  to  realize  their  kinship  with  other  peoples  and  to  feel 
responsibility  for  their  welfare.  But  this  contact  was  confined  to 
a  relatively  small  section  of  the  American  people,  and  its  far-reach- 
ing significance  for  our  international  relations  is  only  now  for  the 
first  time  coming  to  be  realized.  The  war  has  put  a  knowledge  of 
the  habits  and  aspirations  of  other  peoples  at  a  premium,  and 
besides  knitting  closer  the  ties  which  already  bind  this  country  to 
Europe  has  made  the  nation  realize  the  possible  significance,  for 
weal  or  woe,  of  those  great  masses  of  men  who  inhabit  the  Near  and 
the  Far  East. 

It  will  give  us  the  true  perspective  for  judging  the  closer  and 
more  intimate  relations  into  which  the  war  has  brought  us  with 
Europe  if  we  begin  by  considering  the  world  situation  as  a  whole, 
as  it  appears  to  those  observers  whose  judgment  as  to  the  signifi- 
cance of  what  they  see  has  been  ripened  by  long  acquaintance  with 
the  foreign-missionary  enterprise.  We  can  do  this  the  more  readily 
as  the  information  has  been  gathered  for  us  in  convenient  form  in 
a  recent  publication  of  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious 
Outlook,  entitled,  "The  Missionary  Outlook  in  the  Light  of  the 
War."  1 

The  book  is  the  joint  contribution  of  more  than  fifty  persons 
from  different  countries  and  societies,  and  is  an  interesting  illustra- 
tion of  the  educative  effect  of  foreign  missions  upon  those  who 
participate  in  them.  Mr.  Israel  Zangwill  recently  expressed  in  the 
New  Republic^  his  surprise  at  finding  a  missionary  review  which 

^  Association  Press,  New  York,  1920. 
'June  25,  1919. 


THE  WIDER  OUTLOOK  49 

chanced  to  fall  into  his  hands  so  alert  and  well  informed  on  inter- 
national questions.  Had  he  read  this  volume  his  surprise  might 
have  been  greater  still.  Its  authors  agree  in  reporting  a  new  self- 
consciousness  on  the  part  of  the  peoples  of  the  East,  which  takes 
the  form  of  a  demand  for  national  independence  and  self-govern- 
ment.^ In  Asia  and  Africa,  as  in  Europe  and  America,  nations  as 
well  as  individuals  aspire  to  be  their  own  masters,  to  lead  their  own 
lives,  and  to  direct  their  own  destinies.  What  Irishmen  are  de- 
manding of  England,  Hindus  and  Egyptians  are  also  asking.  What 
Poland  and  the  Balkans  desire  for  themselves  is  the  aspiration  of 
Armenians,  Syrians,  and  Arabs,  The  legitimate  desire  of  the  Jap- 
anese for  territory  in  which  to  expand  so  that  they  may  feed  their 
rapidly  increasing  population,  is  met  by  the  stout  resistance  of 
Chinese  and  of  Koreans  who  claim  sovereignty  over  their  own 
territories  and  refuse  to  recognize  the  rights  of  the  invader. 

This  tide  of  national  self-consciousness  carries  with  it  other 
changes  of  a  far-reaching  character.  We  find  a  strong  interest  in 
education,  a  changing  economic  and  industrial  system,  and,  above 
all,  the  beginnings  of  a  new  position  for  women.  It  is  true  that 
these  changes  are  only  in  their  infancy.  But  no  one  can  predict 
how  rapid  their  growth  will  be  or  how  far  they  will  lead  us. 

A  striking  illustration  of  what  these  new  forces  mean  in  the 
educational  life  of  the  East  is  furnished  by  Professor  Dewey's 
recent  experience  in  China.  For  centuries  China  has  been  conspicu- 
ous for  the  conservatism  of  its  educational  system.  Yet  the  Chinese 
invited  the  foremost  educational  authority  of  the  Western  world  to 
lecture  to  them  on  the  philosophy  of  education.  All  recent  visitors 
to  China  report  an  extraordinary  educational  revival,  and  those 
who  have  had  the  opportunity  of  meeting  the  students  who  are 
finding  their  way  to  this  country  in  increasing  numbers  realize  that 
in  native  ability,  power  of  concentration,  and  maturity  of  judgment, 
the  Chinese  student  can,  to  say  the  least,  hold  his  own  with  the 
students  of  other  countries. 

It  is  too  soon  to  forecast  the  outcome  of  the  new  movement. 
We  have  seen  in  Russia  what  may  take  place  when  a  premature 
attempt  is  made  to  graft  a  different  system  upon  a  stock  which  is 
not  prepared  for  it.  In  China  popular  education  is  a  thing  of  yes- 
terday, and  though  the  invention  of  the  modern  script  removes  one 

'  Cf.  "The  Missionary  Outlook  in  the  Light  of  the  War,"  p.  28. 


50  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  the  most  serious  difficulties  in  the  way  of  teaching  the  masses  to 
read  and  write,  it  will  be  long  before  the  experiment  has  gone  far 
enough  to  make  confident  prediction  as  to  its  outcome  possible. 

The  economic  and  industrial  life  of  the  Eastern  peoples  is  also 
changing.  Japan  offers  the  most  instructive  example.  In  Japan 
as  in  our  own  country  the  rapid  rise  of  great  manufacturing  centres, 
drawing  their  labor  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  has  affected  the 
habits  of  the  masses.  All  the  vexed  problems  of  human  relation- 
ships and  ideals  at  which  we  have  already  glanced  in  previous 
chapters  are  involved  in  such  a  process. 

What  is  going  on  in  Japan  on  a  large  scale  is  beginning  in 
China  and  in  India.  In  Shanghai  there  are  cotton  mills  owned, 
operated,  and  managed  by  Chinese  who  have  received  their  training 
in  the  University  of  Texas.  The  same  will  be  true  in  other  cities  as 
soon  as  the  proper  facilities  for  transportation  have  been  created. 

The  movement  for  the  enfranchisement  of  women,^  though  still 
in  embryo  in  countries  like  India  and  China,  is  very  much  alive 
and  no  one  can  foresee  what  its  ultimate  outcome  will  be.  One  of 
the  recent  unofficial  delegations  to  this  country  in  connection  with 
the  Disarmament  Conference  included  Madame  Yajima,  a  lady 
who  represents  what  is  best  in  the  spirit  of  the  new  Japan.  Such  a 
visit  would  have  been  unthinkable  a  few  years  ago.  The  leaven  is 
working  even  in  Mohammedan  countries,  and  there  are  indications 
that  the  women  of  the  Near  East  as  well  as  of  the  Far  East  will 
soon  no  longer  be  content  with  the  intellectual  seclusion  to  which 
the  marriage  customs  of  their  country  have  hitherto  condemned 
them. 

Race  kinship  as  well  as  national  self-consciousness  is  asserting 
itself  in  various  ways,  as  in  the  Zionist  movement  among  the  Jews 
and  the  recent  Pan-African  movement  among  the  Negroes.  This 
fact  is  being  used  in  certain  quarters  to  check  the  growing  inter- 
national spirit.  We  are  warned  that  the  rising  tide  of  color  is  a 
menace  to  the  world's  peace  and  to  meet  it  the  white  peoples  should 
arm  to  the  teeth.^  There  seems  little  reason  for  such  fear.  Race  is 
indeed  a  powerful  tie,  but  by  itself  it  has  not  proved  as  strong  as 
some  alarmists  would  have  us  believe.  There  are  rivalries  between 
peoples  of  the  same  race  which  are  as  bitter  and  have  been  as  pro- 

*"The  Missionary  Outlook  in  the  Light  of  the  War,"  pp.  67  sq. 
»Cf.  p.  43. 


THE  WIDER  OUTLOOK  51 

longed  as  those  between  peoples  of  different  race.  The  World  War 
amply  demonstrated  this  point.  Even  if  this  were  not  true  such  a 
race  menace  would  be  an  argument  for  more  international  friendli- 
ness rather  than  for  less. 

Yet  while  the  growing  race  consciousness  may  not  lead  to  war 
it  is  none  the  less  true  that  it  may  hamper  the  Christian  spirit  in 
many  ways.  We  have  seen  this  already  in  our  own  country  in  con- 
nection with  the  Negro  question.  In  the  international  sphere  it  reap- 
pears on  a  larger  scale  and  creates  difficulties  of  a  formidable  kind. 

Noticeable  among  the  effects  of  the  war  has  been  the  loss  of 
confidence  in  Western  leadership.  The  war  which  has  shattered  so 
many  ideals  has  given  an  irreparable  blow  to  European  prestige. 
The  early  respect  for  the  superior  knowledge  of  the  foreigner,  the 
willingness  to  take  his  counsel  and  follow  his  advice,  which  was 
apparent  in  the  earlier  relations  of  the  East  with  Europe,  has  been 
sadly  shaken.  Asiatics  and  Africans  fought  in  Europe  against 
white  men  during  the  war  and  have  carried  back  to  their  homes  a 
very  different  report  of  the  state  of  European  civilization  from  that 
which  has  been  given  to  them  by  the  missionaries.  They  have  seen 
its  weakness  as  well  as  its  strength  and  are  not  likely  to  forget 
what  they  have  seen.  Henceforth  the  peoples  who  have  been  con- 
tent to  accept  Western  models  mean  to  judge  for  themselves  and  to 
shape  their  lives  in  their  own  way. 

The  reflex  influence  of  these  tendencies  upon  Christianity  has 
on  the  whole  been  less  unfavorable  than  might  have  been  antic- 
ipated. Far  from  disproving  the  Christian  religion,  the  war  has 
made  it  seem  to  many  thoughtful  Eastern  observers  more  desirable 
and  admirable.  What  has  been  disproved  is  the  claim  of  Europe 
and  America  to  be  Christian  nations.  Had  they  been  Christian  (so 
reason  thoughtful  Chinese  with  whom  the  author  has  talked)  the 
war  would  never  have  been  possible. 

Unquestionably  those  who  go  to  China  and  Japan  as  representa- 
tives of  Western  civilization  will  be  subjected  in  the  future  to  a  more 
rigorous  scrutiny  than  in  the  past.  They  will  be  obliged  to  prove 
their  disinterestedness  by  helping  the  Asiatic  peoples  to  develop 
their  own  methods  of  progress  and  cannot  hope  to  impose  upon  them 
unmodified  Western  ideals. 

True  in  all  departments  of  social  life,  this  will  be  particularly 
true  in  religion.    In  Japan  a  native  Christian  church  is  already 


52  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

in  existence.  In  China  and  India  its  beginnings  are  apparent.^ 
Chinese  and  Hindus  are  no  longer  content  to  reproduce  in  their  own 
country  the  divisions  of  our  Western  Christianity.  If  they  must 
divide  they  will  divide  on  their  own. lines  and  on  issues  which  have 
present  meaning  for  them. 

These  issues,  if  present  indications  are  any  guide  as  to  the 
future,  will  be,  far  more  largely  than  with  us,  moral  and  social  is- 
sues. The  theological  disputes  which  gave  us  the  ancient  creeds 
have  lost  meaning  to  Eastern  Christians;  but  questions  of  social 
justice,  national  independence,  and  individual  morals  are  living 
questions,  and  on  them  they  expect  the  Church  to  take  a  stand. 
What,  they  ask,  has  Christianity  to  say  about  the  sale  of  opium 
in  China?  What  about  Shantung?  What  about  the  treatment  of 
the  Japanese  in  California?  What  about  the  situation  which  has 
been  created  by  the  Japanese  conquest  of  Korea? 

Under  these  influences  the  foreign-missionary  enterprise  develops 
and  expands  before  our  eyes.  From  the  first  the  missionaries  were 
many-sided  men,  keenly  interested  in  the  social  conditions  of  the 
countries  to  which  they  came,  and  eager  to  provide  for  them  the 
broadest  possible  ministry .^  But  the  consciousness  of  a  responsi- 
bility for  changing  the  environment  as  well  as  the  spirit  of  men 
has  been  greatly  reinforced  by  recent  events.  Modern  missionaries 
take  it  for  granted  that  their  calling  may  lead  them  to  study  eco- 
nomic and  industrial  as  well  as  theological  questions  and  to  establish 
colleges  and  hospitals  in  addition  to  churches. 

Especially  noticeable  has  been  the  effect  of  the  new  problems 
upon  the  attitude  of  the  missionaries  to  one  another.  The  differ- 
ences which  divide  Christians  have  shrunk  into  relative  insignif- 
icance in  the  face  of  the  needs  of  a  non-Christian  civilization. 
Nowhere  has  co-operation  between  the  churches  been  carried  so 
far.  Union  schools  and  hospitals  exist  in  many  mission  fields. 
Even  in  theological  education  the  obstacles  have  not  proved  in- 
surmountable. There  is  not  a  single  theological  seminary  in  the 
United  States  supported  jointly  by  the  authorities  of  different 
denominations.    There  are  six  such  institutions  in  China.^ 

'  Cf.  "The  Missionary  Outlook  in  the  Light  of  the  War,"  pp.  87,  96  sq. 

^Cf.  Speer,  "The  Social  Spirit  of  the  Missionary  Founders,"  Constructive 
Quarterly,  March,  1921. 

^  It  is  quite  true  that  the  elementary  character  of  the  instruction  given  in 
these  schools  has  made  co-operation  easier  than  would  be  the  case  with  insti- 


THE  WIDER  OUTLOOK  53 

This  consciousness  of  a  united  responsibility  has  found  signal 
expression  in  such  gatherings  as  the  Edinburgh  and  Panama  Confer- 
ences. It  has  created  organs  for  its  activities  in  the  various  Con- 
tinuation Committees  at  home  and  on  the  field  ;^  most  notably  in 
the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North  America  which  brings 
together  annually  for  mutual  counsel  and  deliberation  all  the  more 
important  foreign-missionary  agencies  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  In  the  International  Review  of  Missions  it  has  an  organ 
which  serves  not  only  as  a  reliable  source  of  information  as  to 
what  is  being  done  in  the  various  mission  fields,  but  also,  what  is 
far  more  important,  as  a  forum  for  the  discussion  of  principles 
and  policies  as  between  the  missionaries  in  the  field  and  those  who 
are  supporting  them  at  home.^  In  a  later  chapter  we  shall  study 
the  co-operative  movement  in  the  home  church,  and  we  shall  find 
that  at  almost  every  point  it  is  following  a  course  which  has  been 
anticipated  in  the  foreign  field. 

The  foreign-missionary  movement  is  peculiarly  instructive  be- 
cause of  the  light  which  it  sheds  upon  the  course  which  is  likely  to 
be  taken  by  our  home  Christianity.  It  shows  us  not  only  that 
our  problems  in  America  are  like  the  problems  which  other  nations 
are  facing;  they  are  the  same  problems,  and  because  they  belong 
to  all  of  us  alike,  they  can  only  be  solved  together.*    It  was  not 

tutions  of  higher  grade.  The  real  test  will  come  when  Young  China  claims 
the  right  to  shape  its  own  theological  instruction  after  the  models  of  the  free 
institutions  of  the  West.  The  campaign  now  being  carried  on  by  the  Bible 
Union  in  China  in  favor  of  a  literal  interpretation  of  the  Bible  and  the  result- 
ing theological  tension  among  missionaries  is  an  indication  of  the  fact  that 
the  same  differences  of  belief  which  have  made  unity  difficult  in  the  home 
field  are  certain  to  reproduce  themselves  in  the  foreign  field.  Much  will  de- 
pend for  the  future  of  Christianity,  not  only  abroad  but  at  home,  upon  the 
spirit  in  which  these  difficulties  are  met. 

^E.g.  the  International  Missionary  Council,  which  is  the  successor  of  the 
Continuation  Committee  of  the  Edinburgh  Conference;  the  Committee  on 
Co-operation  in  Latin  America,  the  organ  of  the  Panama  Conference;  the 
China  Continuation  Committee;  the  National  Missionary  Council  of  India, 
organized  as  a  result  of  Dr.  Mott's  tour  in  1912  and  1913.  Action  taken  at 
the  last  meeting  of  the  National  Missionary  Council  proposes  a  reorganization 
of  the  Council  on  a  more  representative  basis,  in  which  churches  as  well  as 
missions  shall  become  the  units  of  representation.  Cf.  "Resolutions  of  the 
National  Missionary  Council,"  Poona,  1922,  pp.  20  sq. 

*Cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  'Ten  Years  ...  of  the  Review,"  International  Re 
view  of  Missions,  January,  1922. 

*Cf.  the  author's  pamphlet,  "Modem  Missions  in  the  Far  East,"  New  York, 
1917,  pp.  20  sq. 


54  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

an  accident  that  the  writers  of  the  missionary  review  which  so 
impressed  Mr.  Zangwill  were  keenly  interested  in  international  poli- 
tics. It  is  not  an  accident  that  writer  after  writer  in  the  volume 
on  "The  Missionary  Outlook  in  the  Light  of  the  War"  discusses  the 
League  of  Nations.^  These  topics  are  forced  upon  the  missionaries 
by  the  nature  of  the  situation  in  which  they  find  themselves.  They 
preach  Christianity  to  the  Chinese,  but  influences  emanate  from 
Europe  and  America  which  make  the  Christianization  of  the  Chinese 
difficult  if  not  impossible.  They  hold  up  an  ideal  of  brotherhood 
and  peace,  but  forces  are  in  operation  which  constrain  their  con- 
verts to  separation  and  war.  How  can  we  expect  Japan  to  treat 
China  on  Christian  principles  if  France,  England,  and  the  United 
States  decide  their  relations  to  weaker  peoples  on  grounds  of  self- 
interest  or  expediency?  Unless  we  can  show  that  Christianity  is 
practicable  everywhere  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  can  be  practicable 
anywhere.  The  old  principle  of  each  for  himself  has  broken  down 
in  politics  no  less  than  in  religion.  All  nations  must  learn  to  live 
together  in  peace  if  there  is  to  be  hope  of  peace  for  any  nation. 

So  a  study  of  the  foreign-missionary  enterprise  brings  us  into 
the  heart  of  present  international  questions.  These,  too,  form  part 
of  the  problem  with  which  the  Church  must  deal,  for  they  bear 
directly  upon  the  lives  of  the  men  and  women  to  whom  the  Church 
ministers. 

3.    Suffering  as  a  Teacher  of  International  Brotherhood 
and  Responsibility 

A  second  point  of  contact  between  American  Christianity  and 
the  international  situation  is  the  appeal  that  comes  to  us  for  relief 
from  the  suffering  peoples  of  the  war-stricken  lands.  Touching 
human  sympathy  in  the  most  elementary  way,  it  reaches  many  who 
have  not  yet  felt  the  importance  of  the  missionary  enterprise. 

There  was  a  time  when  suffering  was  accepted  as  the  natural  lot 
of  man,  to  be  endured  with  as  much  fortitude  as  one  could  command. 
There  are  countries  where  this  opinion  still  prevails.  Famine, 
pestilence,  war  with  its  devastation  are  accepted  as  natural  phe- 
nomena like  storm  or  drought.  The  Chinese  pilgrims  have  for 
centuries  thrown  coins  to  the  beggars  that  line  the  road  leading 
from  Hangchow  to  the  monastery  of  Lin  Yin.    But  it  is  to  acquire 

*Cf.  pp.  17  sq.,  pp.  294  sq.,  p.  301. 


THE  WIDER  OUTLOOK  55 

merit  for  themselves,  not  out  of  compassion  for  the  sufferers.  It 
has  never  occurred  to  anyone  that  this  suffering  could  be  prevented 
or  these  diseases  healed.  "Remove  the  beggars!"  exclaimed  a 
Buddhist  abbot  to  one  who  asked  why  the  Church  did  not  care 
for  these  sufferers;  "That  would  never  do.  Kwannon  (the  goddess 
of  mercy)  would  be  angry.  How  could  we  worship  her  acceptably 
if  there  were  no  beggars  to  whom  to  give  alms?" 

Once  in  a  while  we  discover  this  attitude  of  mind  at  home. 
There  is  an  island  in  Maine  where  a  plague  of  tuberculosis  recently 
threatened  to  destroy  the  little  population.  A  nurse  was  sent  by 
the  Sea  Coast  Missionary  Society  to  tr>'  to  check  the  plague  and  to 
save  the  lives  of  the  children  by  teaching  them  sanitary  habits. 
Soon  after  her  arrival  she  was  asked  by  one  of  the  older  inhabitants 
to  cease  her  nursing  work  on  the  ground  that  she  was  interfering 
with  the  will  of  God.  "You  stick  to  religion,"  he  said  to  the  nurse, 
"and  don't  go  interfering  with  our  health.  The  Almighty  sent  this 
sickness  to  plague  us.  When  He  gets  through  punishing  us  He  will 
stop." 

This  primitive  conception  of  suffering  is,  however,  rare  among 
us.  Suffering  wherever  found,  in  whatever  nation,  or  race,  or  class, 
is  considered  among  Western  nations  a  challenge  to  help.  Charity 
has  become  an  international  virtue.  The  Red  Cross  knows  no  fron- 
tier. So  when  a  calamity  like  the  late  war  falls  upon  the  world,  it 
annuls  the  boundaries  of  nationality  and  reveals  our  kinship  as 
human  beings.  The  thirty  million  dollars  raised  by  Hoover  for  the 
starving  peoples  of  Europe,  the  vast  sums  secured  by  the  Near  East 
Relief  Commission,  and  the  yet  other  millions  contributed  for  the 
China  Famine  Relief  Fund  are  but  conspicuous  examples  of  an  out- 
reaching  charity  which  has  made  America  loved  in  great  areas  of 
human  suffering. 

But  the  question  continually  recurs:  "Why  should  we  spend 
our  substance  in  repairing  war's  damage  when  the  causes  which 
produce  war  are  suffered  to  operate  unchecked?"  Charity  is  no 
doubt  a  Christian  duty,  but  at  best  it  is  a  makeshift,  a  device  to 
tide  over  a  crisis  till  some  more  permanent  help  can  be  supplied. 
The  true  ideal  for  the  Christian  is  not  to  give  alms  to  the  man 
who  is  down,  but  to  help  him  to  stand  upon  his  feet.  We  do  well  to 
feed  suffering  Austrian  children,  but  we  shall  not  nave  done  our 
full  duty  until  we  have  helped  Austria  to  feed  her  own  children. 


56  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

The  same  is  true  of  all  the  peoples  to  whom  we  are  asked  to  extend 

help. 

Armenia  is  a  case  in  point.  During  the  past  three  years  the 
American  people  through  the  Near  East  Relief  Fund  have  expended 
more  than  sixty  million  dollars  to  care  for  the  unhappy  peoples  of 
the  Near  East.  The  larger  part  of  this  has  gone  to  the  Armenians. 
Yet  after  all  these  years  of  labor  and  effort  the  situation  seems  as 
precarious  as  ever.  Many  sufferers  have  been  relieved  and  many 
orphans  fed  and  sheltered,  but  the  causes  which  have  produced 
this  condition  still  continue.  Still  Turkish  vengeance  threatens 
the  remnant  of  this  aflBicted  people  and  the  rivalries  of  the  great 
powers  and  our  own  policy  of  non-interference  have  made  it  im- 
possible to  take  effective  steps  to  protect  them.  How  futile  to  go 
on  treating  symptoms  while  we  allow  the  disease  to  rage  unchecked! 
How  impossible  to  pretend  indifference  to  the  political  situation 
in  Europe  when  it  affects  directly  not  only  the  pocket-books  but 
the  Christian  sympathies  of  more  than  ten  million  Americans! 

We  have  spoken  of  Armenia  because  it  is  a  case  which  to  an 
extraordinary  degree  has  awakened  the  sympathies  of  Americans; 
but  it  is  only  one  of  many  points  of  danger  on  the  international 
horizon.  Some  we  have  already  touched  on,  but  only  a  few.  In 
the  Far  East  there  are  Korea  and  Manchuria;  in  the  Near  East, 
Syria,  Asia  Minor,  and  Egypt;  in  Europe,  the  Balkans,  Poland,  and 
Silesia,  not  to  speak  of  the  ever-threatening  menace  of  Russia. 
England  must  deal  with  India,  and  we  must  consider  our  relations 
with  Mexico  and  Japan.  While  these  conditions  continue,  states- 
men cannot  but  be  anxious  and  efforts  to  bring  about  disarmament 
meet  with  resolute  opposition. 

But  our  dissatisfaction  with  the  present  international  situation 
goes  even  deeper  than  this.  It  involves  our  entire  philosophy  of 
life.  As  Christians  we  are  committed  to  the  ideal  of  world-wide 
co-operation  and  brotherhood.  The  present  system  proceeds  on  a 
diametrically  opposite  assumption.  It  takes  for  granted  an  inherent 
antagonism  of  interest  between  nations  and  races.  Christians  be- 
lieve that  all  men  are  children  of  a  common  Father,  meant  by  Him 
to  live  together  in  mutual  helpfulness  and  peace.  So  believing,  we 
cannot  rest  until  we  have  found  a  way  to  live  out  this  faith,  not 
simply  as  individuals  but  as  citizens  and  as  patriots. 


THE  WIDER  OUTLOOK  57 

4.     The  Church  and  the  Leagxie  of  Nations 

That  is  why  the  proposal  for  a  League  of  Nations  met  with  so 
enthusiastic  a  response  on  the  part  of  Christians  everywhere.  It 
was  a  definite  attempt  to  deal  with  this  ever-present  danger  at  its 
source.  It  was  the  suggestion  of  a  new  metliod  of  approach  to 
international  relations — the  method  of  conference  and  co-operation 
instead  of  secrecy  and  isolation.  It  invited  a  different  attitude  on 
the  part  of  statesmen,  an  attitude  of  trust  and  confidence,  instead  of 
one  of  suspicion  and  fear.  The  acclamation  with  which  the  proposal 
of  the  League  was  received  in  the  most  widely  separated  circles, 
no  less  than  the  deep  despondency  and  even  despair  with  which  its 
momentary  failure  has  been  followed,  is  the  best  witness  to  the  fact 
that  it  touched  some  deeper  chord  than  is  reached  by  our  conven- 
tional politics;  that  it  expressed  those  underlying  yearnings  which 
belong  not  to  any  one  nation  or  group  of  nations,  but  to  man  as 
man;  that,  in  short,  its  appeal  passed  beyond  politics  into  religion. 

It  was  inevitable,  then,  that  religious  people  should  actively 
interest  themselves  in  the  League  of  Nations.  No  political  issue  for 
a  generation  received  such  instant  and  whole-hearted  support  from 
the  churches.^  While  it  is  true  that  the  recent  campaign  against 
the  League  has  led  many  of  its  former  advocates  to  recognize  weak- 
nesses and  dangers  in  its  present  form  which  will  need  to  be  cor- 
rected, those  who  are  responsible  for  the  present  conduct  of  the 
nation's  affairs  will  make  a  grave  mistake  if  they  interpret  the  pres- 
ent disposition  of  their  constituency  to  allow  them  large  latitude 
in  finding  the  way  in  which  that  correction  can  be  made,  as  indicat- 
ing any  loss  of  faith  in  the  central  purpose  for  which  the  League 
was  created  or  any  weakening  of  the  will  to  realize  it.  When  all 
has  been  said  against  the  League  that  can  be  said,  the  fact  remains 
that  it  is  the  first  serious  attempt  to  write  into  the  law  of  nations 
the  principle  that  there  is  a  sovereignty  higher  than  that  of  the 
individual  nation;  the  first  real  effort  to  devise  machinery  through 

*  Between  February  and  July,  1919,  the  League  was  endorsed,  among  others, 
by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  by  the 
Northern  Baptist  Convention,  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Synod  of  New  Eng- 
land, by  the  Congregational  Conference  of  Southern  California,  by  the  Metho- 
dists, at  their  Centenary  Celebration,  as  well  as  by  the  Federal  Oouncil  of 
the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America. 


58  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

which  common  human  interests  can  find  orderly  recognition  and 
protection.  The  particular  plan  which  President  Wilson  brought 
back  from  Paris  may  need  to  be  modified  or  replaced  by  a  better, 
but  the  ideal  which  it  enshrines  will  never  die.  For  it  is  the  old 
ideal  of  Isaiah  and  of  Jesus — the  ideal  of  a  family  of  nations,  wor- 
shipping one  God,  conscious  of  one  destiny,  co-operating  in  one 
brotherhood.  If  the  churches  are  silent  in  the  face  of  such  an 
issue;  if  in  this  crisis  of  the  world's  history  their  influence  is  not 
felt  on  behalf  of  some  ideal  which  transcends  that  of  the  individual 
nation,  they  will  be  recreant  to  their  calling  and  will  see  the  moral 
leadership  of  the  nation  pass  to  other  hands. 

The  appeal  of  General  Bliss  to  the  churches  ^  about  disarmament 
has  been  often  quoted.  It  will  bear  quoting  again.  Speaking  to  the 
preachers  of  the  United  States  he  said,  "If  the  clergymen  of  the 
United  States  want  to  secure  a  limitation  of  armaments  they  can 
do  it  now  without  any  further  waste  of  time.  If,  on  an  agreed-upon 
date,  they  simultaneously  preach  one  sermon  on  this  subject,  in 
every  church  of  every  creed  throughout  the  United  States,  and  con- 
clude their  services  by  having  their  congregation  adopt  a  resolution 
addressed  to  their  particular  congressman  urging  upon  him  the  neces- 
sity of  having  a  business  conference  of  five  nations  upon  this  subject, 
the  thing  will  be  done.  If  the  churches  cannot  agree  upon  that  it 
will  not  be  done,  nor  will  it  be  done  until  the  good  God  puts  into 
them  the  proper  spirit  of  their  religion.  The  responsibility  is  en- 
tirely upon  the  professing  Christians  of  the  United  States.  If 
another  war  like  the  last  one  should  come,  they  will  be  responsible 
for  every  drop  of  blood  that  will  be  shed  and  for  every  dollar 
wastefully  expended." 

Limitation  of  armaments  is  but  the  first  step  in  the  campaign 
against  war.  Armaments  are  effects  which  are  produced  by  states 
of  mind.  General  O'Ryan  was  quite  right  when,  in  a  recent  address 
to  the  students  of  more  than  forty  Eastern  colleges,  assembled  at 
Princeton  to  discuss  disarmament,  he  said,  "If  you  wish  to  abolish 
war  you  must  go  back  further  than  a  limitation  of  armaments  or 
even  beyond  absolute  disarmament.  Men  will  fight  with  scythes, 
stones,  and  any  other  weapons  they  may  have  .  .  .  unless  something 
is  done  to  stop  this  by  looking  after  men's  emotions  and  creeds."  ^ 

*In  a  letter  to  the  Church  Peace  Union,  in  May,  1921. 
'New  York  Times,  October  27,  1921. 


THE  WIDER  OUTLOOK  59 

These  emotions  and  creeds — the  raw  material  out  of  which  wars 
are  made — are  built  up  slowly  step  by  step  by  what  you  and  I 
do  in  our  daily  lives  as  citizens,  as  we  pass  judgment  on  the  va- 
rious questions  which  involve  the  relation  of  our  own  nation  to 
others  in  the  practical  conduct  of  its  everyday  affairs.  It  is  because 
we  have  formed  the  habit  of  thinking  of  our  own  nation  as  an  inde- 
pendent moral  unit,  claiming  the  allegiance  of  its  own  citizens,  but 
in  its  relation  to  other  nations  bound  by  no  law  but  its  own  self- 
interest,  that  we  allow  ourselves  to  become  involved  in  situations 
which,  when  they  arise,  force  us  into  war  against  our  will.  When 
that  time  comes  it  is  too  late  to  draw  back.  The  mischief  is  already 
done.  If  ever  a  nation  tried  not  to  go  to  war,  we  tried  from  1914 
to  1917,  but  we  found  it  impossible.  What  has  happened  once  may 
happen  again.  It  will  happen  again  unless  while  there  is  time  we 
take  steps  to  see  that  it  shall  not. 

Thus  this  matter  of  armament  becomes  a  symbol  of  something 
far  deeper  and  more  momentous,  something  which  cuts  to  the  very 
heart  of  the  life  of  mankind.  Bishop  Nicholai  expressed  it  in  these 
moving  words  to  the  students  of  the  Cosmopolitan  Club:^ 

*'I  find  myself  to-night  speaking  to  the  whole  world.  Who  can 
speak  to  the  world  but  He  who  loves  the  world?  God  alone  can  do 
it,  for  He  alone  really  loves  the  world.  Christ  tried  his  best  to 
teach  men  we  are  the  sons  of  God.  Europe  throughout  the  nine- 
teenth century  tried  her  hardest  to  teach  men  they  were  animals 
and  the  sons  of  animals.  The  first  teaching  leads  to  humanity 
and  peace;  the  second  teaching  leads  to  disdain  of  humanity  and 
war.  Friends,  we  must  train  ourselves  systematically  for  love 
of  humanity.  First  we  must  learn  to  have  compassion  with  suffer- 
ing humanity;  then  we  must  learn  to  respect  its  efforts  and  strug- 
gles; and  finally,  out  of  compassion  and  respect,  love  will  be  born 
in  our  hearts."  ^ 

It  seems  so  simple.  We  have  time  for  everything  else.  We  are 
training  men  for  this  and  tha1>— to  be  doctors,  lawyers,  diplomats, 
soldiers,  sailors.  Has  not  the  time  come  to  train  men  for  love? 
No  one  of  all  the  multiplying  contacts  of  our  modern  world  but 
carries  with  it  the  opportunity  for  an  enlarged  fellowship,  if  rightly 
understood.    This  interpretation  is  the  Church's  business.    We  must 

*Cf.  p.  36,  note  1. 

"Reprinted  in  "Pan-Humanity,"  New  York,  1921. 


60  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

train  men  for  love  by  showing  them  the  bearing  of  the  common 
things  they  do  upon  the  great  ideals  they  profess.  Only  by  patient, 
intelligent,  long-continued  training  can  we  create  the  habits  of 
feeling  and  thinking,  or  as  General  O'Ryan  would  put  it,  "the 
emotions  and  creeds,"  which  will  make  co-operation  with  men  of 
other  nations  seem  natural  and  desirable. 

A  renewed  confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  love  is  the  world's  par- 
amount need  to-day.^  Trace  any  one  of  our  troubles  to  its  source 
and  we  come  to  a  difficulty  of  the  spirit.  When  we  lose  faith  in  our 
neighbor's  capacity  for  good  we  open  the  door  to  fear.  Until  this 
fear  is  exorcised  we  can  make  no  real  progress.  When  trust  is 
restored,  all  else  will  be  possible.  To  replace  fear  with  trust  is 
the  Church's  supreme  mission.  By  its  success  or  failure  here  it  must 
finally  be  judged. 

^In  a  recent  number  of  the  New  York  Evening  Post  appeared  two  letters 
under  date  of  December  30,  1921,  which,  written  for  different  purposes,  are 
alike  in  bearing  testimony  to  the  efficacy  of  love  as  a  solution  of  the  world's 
practical  difficulties.  The  first,  commenting  on  Lord  Shaw  of  Dunfermline's 
recently  published  "Letters  to  Isabel,"  quotes  the  following  from  a  letter  by 
Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman,  written  at  the  close  of  the  Boer  War:  "It 
is  not  by  force  of  arms  that  South  Africa  will  be  lost,  but  by  misgovernment, 
and  instead  of  blustering  about  reinforcements  and  army  reform,  or— shall  we 
say — platitudinizing  about  commercial  education,  it  would  be  well  if  our 
eminent  ones  applied  themselves  to  this  problem,  How  to  make  those  love  us 
who  now  hate  us.  A  fine  New  Year's  sentiment,  if  ever  there  was  one."  The 
author  adds:  "Many  a  time  in  the  years  since  then  I  have  thought  of  that 
sentence,  'How  to  make  those  love  us  who  now  hate  us.'  It  is  the  pure  gold 
of  statesmanship." 

The  other  repeats  the  last  message  of  Lord  Grey,  the  late  Governor-Gen- 
eral of  Canada,  who  said  when  dying,  "I  want  to  say  to  people  that  there  is 
a  real  way  out  of  all  this  mess  materialism  has  got  them  into.  It  is  Christ's 
way.  We've  got  to  give  up  quarrelling.  We've  got  to  realize  we  are  all  mem- 
bers of  the  same  family.  There's  nothing  that  can  help  humanity— I'm  per- 
fectly sure  there  is  not — except  love.  Love  is  the  way  out,  and  the  way  up. 
That  is  my  farewell  to  the  world." 


PART  II 

WHERE  TO  BEGIN 


CHAPTER  V 

WHEEE  THE   WAR   FOUND   THE   CHURCH 

1.    The  American  Church,  an  Experiment  in  Democracy 

Like  the  nation  which  it  serves,  the  American  Church  is  a  com- 
plex phenomenon.  No  historian  has  yet  been  found  to  attempt  such 
a  comprehensive  interpretation  of  its  genius  as  Viscount  Bryce  has 
given  us  of  the  genius  of  the  nation  in  his  "American  Common- 
wealth." A  generation  ago  Dr.  Philip  Schafif  called  attention  to  this 
need,  but  the  American  Church  history  which  he  edited  is  little  more 
than  a  series  of  denominational  histories,  and  the  last  of  these  ap- 
peared more  than  twenty  years  ago.^  A  summary  of  the  main  facts 
concerning  the  denominations  is  given  by  Dr.  Carroll  in  his  "Re- 
ligious Forces  of  the  United  States,"  ^  and  more  fully  in  the  United 
States  Census  of  Religious  Bodies  for  1916.^  But  these  give  us  only 
the  body,  not  the  spirit,  of  American  Christianity.  The  needed  in- 
terpretation of  American  Christianity  as  a  whole  has  not  yet  been 
attempted. 

Yet  the  attempt  would  be  singularly  rewarding.  For  in  the 
American  Church,  we  have  a  contribution  to  the  history  and  possi- 
bilities of  religion  worthy  of  far  more  attention  than  it  has  yet 
received.  In  the  United  States  we  see  religion  coming  to  terms 
with  democracy;  rejecting  state  control,  and  with  this  rejection  all 
claim  to  state  support;  declaring  itself  competent  to  meet  its  own 
problems  and  discharge  its  own  responsibilities  without  outside  aid, 
even  the  supreme  responsibility  of  training  the  rising  generation  for 
religion.  We  have  had  occasion  already  to  note  some  of  the  points 
in  which  it  has  failed.  It  would  be  a  mistake  not  to  be  equally 
appreciative  of  its  successes. 

*  "American  Church  History,"  New  York,  1893-97,  thirteen  vohimes. 

*H.  K.  Carroll,  "Religious  Forces  of  the  United  States,"  Revised  edition, 
New  York,  1912. 

'"Religious  Bodies,  1916,"  Vol.  I,  "Summary  and  General  Tables";  Vol.  II, 
"Separate  Denominations."  Published  by  the  Federal  Census  Bureau,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  Cf.  Peter  G.  Mode,  "Source  Book  and  Bibliographical  Guide 
for  American  Church  History,  Menasha,  Wisconsin,  1921. 

63 


64  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Perhaps  the  greatest  of  these  is  the  extent  to  which  it  has  suc- 
ceeded in  impressing  the  average  Christian  with  his  responsibility 
for  supporting  the  institutions  of  religion.  We  see  the  weakness  of 
the  American  Church;  its  irregular  and  in  many  respects  unlovely 
development;  the  curious  types  of  religion  to  which  it  has  given  rise; 
the  multiplicity  of  rival  sects ;  the  lack  of  the  sense  of  beauty  and  of 
dignity;  the  loss  of  the  consciousness  of  the  historic  past  of  which 
it  is  heir.  We  do  not  always  realize  as  we  should  that  these  are 
only  the  counterpart  in  religion  of  the  democratic  experiment  in  the 
nation — the  price  of  an  experience  which,  with  much  that  is  uncouth 
and  regrettable,  has  yielded  also  much  that  is  of  inestimable  value 
to  mankind. 

The  history  of  the  American  Church,  could  it  but  be  studied  with 
the  sympathy  and  understanding  which  it  deserves,  would  give  us 
a  key  to  the  understanding  of  the  American  people.     In  both  we 
see  the  same  irregular  and  unplanned  development.     In  both  we 
find  the  spirit  of  the  pioneer  reaching  out  into  the  uncharted  wil- 
derness, careless  of  the  conventions  of  the  home-land  from  which 
he  came,  yet  a  child  of  that  home-land  none  the  less,  carrying  with 
him  into  his  new  environment  ideals  and  aspirations  that  he  did  not 
create.    We  see  him  played  upon  by  a  thousand  influences  both  old 
and  new.     Each  ship  that  brings  him  his  supplies  of  food  and 
tools  brings  him  also  ideas  embodied  in  men  and  women.     Puritan 
and  Cavalier  build  side  by  side  and  worship  as  they  build,  each  in 
his  own  way.    Yet  the  Episcopacy  of  Virginia  differs  from  the  Ang- 
licanism that  gave  it  birth  as  truly  as  the  Congregationalism  of  New 
England  differs  from  the  older  Puritanism  from  which  it  sprang. 
Immigrant  follows  immigrant:  Scotch,  Irish,  Welsh,  Dutch,  French, 
German,  and  each  group  brings  its  own  type  of  religion.    To  under- 
stand the  story  you  must  consult  the  United  States   Census  of 
Religious  Bodies,  as  well  as  the  records  of  the  commissioner  on 
Ellis  Island.    Each  separate  religious  type,  being  free  to  develop  as 
it  will,  tries  its  own  experiment  and  comes  to  terms  as  it  may  with 
the  new  influences  that  surround  it.    Under  these  many  forms  reli- 
gion shares  in  the  struggle  against  nature  in  forest  and  prairie;  in 
the  rapid  immigration  from  state  to  state;  in  the  new  problems  of 
government,  civil  and  religious ;  in  the  world-old  problem  of  recon- 
ciling liberty  and  order.    Each  type  responds  in  its  own  way  to  the 
influences  that  are  welding  the  nation  into  a  unity.    The  growth  of 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  65 

the  democratic  spirit,  the  jealous  purpose  to  guard  a  newly  won 
freedom  against  European  encroachment,  the  strengthening  of  the 
national  consciousness  in  the  Civil  War,  the  sense  of  unbounded 
possibilities  that  came  with  the  great  development  which  followed 
the  war — all  these  interacting  influences  have  helped  to  make  out  of 
the  American  churches,  in  a  far  deeper  and  truer  sense  than  we  our- 
selves realize,  the  American  Church. 

Let  us  sketch,  if  we  can,  some  of  the  salient  features  of  the 
Church  to  which  the  country  looked  for  inspiration  and  spiritual 
guidance  when  in  1917  it  found  itself  at  war. 

2.    Strength  of  the  American  Church  in  Numbers  and  Resources. 
Distribution  of  This  Strength  Among  the  Denominations 

And  first  a  word  as  to  the  externals  of  the  Church — its  strength 
in  numbers  and  in  resources,  personal  and  financial.  The  last  Cen- 
sus of  the  United  States,  that  of  1916,  puts  the  number  of  church 
organizations  in  this  country  at  227,487,  and  of  church  members  at 
41,926,854.^  194,759  Sunday  schools  were  reported  with  a  total 
membership  of  19,935,890.  These  organizations  were  divided  be- 
tween 206  denominations,  owned  203,432  church  buildings  valued  at 
$1,676,600,582,  on  which  there  was  a  debt  of  $164,864,899,  and  par- 
sonages valued  at  $218,846,096.  Their  annual  expenditures  totalled 
$328,809,999,  and  their  gifts  to  missions  and  philanthropy,  $62,050, 
571.  They  employed  191,796  ministers  who  conducted  services  in  43 
different  languages,  and  of  whom  the  63,543  who  reported  full 
salaries  received  on  an  average  $1,078.  These  were  divided  by 
denominations  as  follows,  reckoning  those  only  which  had  more  than 
50,000  members: 

Roman  Catholics  15,721 ,815 

Members  of  the  Eastern  Orthodox  churches 249,840 

Methodists    7,166,451 

Baptists    7!l53,313 

Lutherans    2,467,416 

Presbyterians    2,255,626 

Disciples    1,226,028 

Episcopalians    1,092,821 

Congregationalists    791,274 

Reformed    537,822 

United  Brethren  367,934 

German  Evangelical  Synod 339,853 

'Cf.  "Religious  Bodies,"  1916,  Part  I,  pp.  25-99,  from  which  the  figures 
here  given  are  taken. 


66  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Churches  of  Christ 317,937 

Dunkers    133,626 

Adventists   114,915 

Christians    118,737 

Evangelical  Association  120,756 

United  Evangelical  Church 89,774 

Unitarians    82,515 

Mennonites    79,363 

Universalists   58,566 

In  addition  there  were  462,329  Latter  Day  Saints  and  357,135 
Jews.  The  number  of  Christian  Scientists  is  not  reported  in  the 
Census.^ 

^  Figures  in  the  Year  Book  of  the  Federal  Council  for  1921  show  the  follow- 
ing changes  since  the  Census  of  1916:  church  organizations,  233,999,  with  a 
membership  of  46,242,130  (an  increase  of  6,512  and  4,315,276  respectively)  ; 
199,154  Sunday  schools  with  a  membership  of  23,944,438  (an  increase  of  4,395 
and  4,008,548  respectively);  199,154  ministers  (an  increase  of  7,358).  During 
the  same  period  the  population  of  the  country  increased  from  102,017,312  to 
105,710,620,  or  3,693,308. 

The  figures  for  the  denominations  with  over  50,000  communicants  are  given 
as  follows: 

Roman  Catholics  17,885,646 

Eastern  Orthodox  churches  411 ,054 

Methodists    7,918,557 

Baptists    7,835,250 

Lutherans    2,466,645 

Presbyterians    2,384,683 

Disciples    1,210,023 

Episcopalians    1,117,051 

Congregationalists    819,225 

Reformed    510,905 

United  Brethren   383,329 

German  Evangelical  Synod 274,860 

Churches  of  Christ  317,937 

Dunkers   134,110 

Adventists   136,233 

Christians    97,084 

Evangelical  Association    160,000 

United   Evangelical   Church 90,096 

Unitarians    103,936 

Mennonites    91,282 

Universalists   58,566 

Latter  Day  Saints 587,918 

Jews    (estimated)       400,000 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  these  figures  are  only  provisional 
and  cannot  claim  the  accuracy  of  those  of  the  United  States  Census.  Thus 
the  source  of  the  figures  for  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  the  Catholic  Direc- 
tory which  in  1917  reported  over  17,000,000  Roman  Catholics  for  the  year  1916, 
in  place  of  the  15,721,815  given  by  the  United  States  Census. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  67 

In  determining  the  significance  of  these  figures  we  must  not  over- 
look the  fact  that  the  basis  of  estimation  varies  in  different 
bodies.  Thus  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  reckons  as  full  church 
members  all  baptized  children,  the  Baptists  those  only  who  can 
speak  for  themselves  and  have  received  believers'  baptism.  An  or- 
dinary Roman  Catholic  congregation  is  a  section  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  population  as  well  as  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  mem- 
bership. An  ordinary  Baptist  congregation,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
made  up  both  of  persons  whose  number  is  included  in  its  reported 
membership  and  of  other  persons  not  reported  in  the  Census  of  Re- 
ligious Bodies,  to  whom  appeal  is  being  made  to  make  the  public 
profession  which  will  lead  to  their  inclusion  in  the  organized  church. 
The  number  of  persons  under  direct  Baptist  influence  must  be 
computed.  In  the  case  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  those  num- 
bers are  reported. 

A  similar  contrast  exists  in  the  case  of  other  churches,  like  the 
Presbyterian,  the  Methodist,  the  Lutheran,  and  the  Episcopal, 
which,  like  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  practise  infant  baptism, 
but  unlike  it  do  not  include  baptized  children  in  their  list  of  re- 
ported church  members.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  in  order  to  get 
a  correct  impression  of  the  relative  strength  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
and  Protestant  element  in  the  American  Church,  it  is  necessary  to 
take  account  of  that  proportion  of  the  reported  church  member- 
ship which  consists  of  children  under  thirteen.  This  proportion  in 
the  case  of  the  Roman  Catholics  is  24.96  per  cent.  In  the  average 
Protestant  Church  it  is  slightly  over  5  per  cent.  Even  this  does 
not  fully  represent  the  situation,  for  while  in  the  case  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  a  large  number  of  baptized  persons  are  included  in  the 
rolls  who  have  only  a  nominal  connection  with  the  church,  in  the 
case  of  the  larger  Protestant  communions  many  regularly  attend 
church  services  and  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  church  who 
never  become  church  members  at  all.  Taking  these  facts  into 
account.  Dr.  Laidlaw  estimates  the  Roman  Catholic  element  in 
the  United  States  in  December,  1916,  at  15.5  per  cent,  while  the 
Protestant  element  ranged  between  69.2  and  76.1  per  cent,  according 
to  the  basis  of  calculation.^ 

As  our  plan   does   not  permit   any   detailed   consideration   of 

*  Cf.  his  suggestive  pamphlet,  "Roman  Catholicism   and  Protestantism," 
from  which  the  figures  here  cited  are  taken.    Cf.  esp.  p.  5. 


68  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,  it  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  the  same  influences  which  have  moulded  the  work  of  Amer- 
ican Protestantism  have  been  active  in  the  history  of  the  American 
Catholic  Church.  New  problems  meet  the  church  in  America  and 
new  emphases  appear  in  its  teaching  and  organization.  The  old 
orders  reappear  in  this  country — Dominicans,  Franciscans,  Jesuits, 
etc.,  and  in  addition  new  orders  like  the  Paulist  Fathers,  which 
have  for  their  purpose  the  interpretation  of  Catholic  Christianity 
to  Protestant  America.  Much  important  information  about  the 
church  and  its  operations  may  be  gained  from  the  Catholic  Ency- 
clopedia.^ But  it  is  as  true  of  American  Catholicism  as  it  is  of 
Protestantism  that  it  still  lacks  its  sympathetic  interpreter. 

Two  further  facts  need  brief  mention  in  order  to  complete  the 
picture  of  the  composition  of  the  American  Church:  the  number 
and  strength  of  the  Negro  congregations  and  of  the  foreign-speak- 
ing churches. 

The  Census  of  1916  reports  39,655  Negro  organizations  with  a 
total  membership  of  4,602,805.  Of  these  51,688  are  in  Roman 
Catholic  and  4,551,117  in  Protestant  congregations.  They  own 
church  property  worth  $86,809,970,  with  a  debt  of  $7,938,095,  and 
parsonages  worth  $6,231,459.  They  expended  for  the  support  of 
religion  $18,529,827,  and  had  37,426  Sunday  schools  with  2,153,843 
pupils.^ 

Churches  maintaining  services  either  in  whole  or  in  part  in  for- 
eign languages  reported  a  membership  of  11,329,487,  distributed 
roughly  as  follows:  ^ 

Germans    3,923,000 

Italians    1 ,773,000 

Poles  1,613,000 

French    1,190,000 

Spanish,  including  Mexicans 606,000 

Norwegians   344,000 

Slavic    307,000 

Lithuanian    214,000 

Bohemians    210,000 

Slovaks     181,000 

Hungarians    146,000 

Greeks   132,000 

'  16  vols..  New  York,  1907,  sq. 

'"Religious  Bodies,"  1916.  Part  I,  Summary  and  General  Tables,  pp. 
132-138. 

'  "Religious  Bodies,"  1916,  Part  I,  p.  85. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  69 

Slovenian    122,000 

Yiddish    110,000 

Portuguese    112,000 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  of  these  approximately  7,677,171 
were  in  Roman  Catholic  and  249,840  in  Eastern  Catholic  congrega- 
tions, showing  to  how  large  an  extent  the  Catholic  Church  remains 
a  church  of  people  of  foreign  antecedents  and  speech. 

One  striking  feature  which  comes  out  in  the  religious  statistics 
is  the  small  proportion  of  Jews  who  are  reported  in  the  synagogues 
as  compared  with  the  total  population.  In  this  country  only  357,- 
135  Jews  ^  were  reported  in  1916  as  having  religious  connection 
out  of  a  total  Jewish  population  estimated  at  2,349,754.  In  New 
York  City,  out  of  975,000  Jews,  only  93,819  were  reported  as  in  the 
synagogues.^  In  estimating  the  significance  of  these  figures  it 
should,  however,  be  remembered  that  they  include  only  heads  of 
families.  To  form  a  proper  basis  of  comparison  therefore  they 
should  be  multiplied  by  four. 

In  contrast  to  the  weakness  of  organized  religion  among  the 
Jews  is  the  rapid  growth  of  the  two  new  religions  to  which  America 
has  given  birth  in  our  time,  Mormonism  and  Christian  Science. 
As  to  the  exact  size  and  progress  of  the  latter  we  have  no  official 
statistics,  but  in  the  former  case  the  figures  show  462,329  church 
members,  although  in  this  case  it  should  be  noted  that  30  per  cent, 
are  under  thirteen,  the  largest  proportion  of  any  reporting  church.^ 

Such  figures  as  these  present  a  bewildering  picture.  So  seen, 
the  religious  history  of  America  would  seem  to  be  a  confused  med- 
ley of  rival  and  conflicting  sects.  Closer  inspection,  however,  tends 
to  bring  order  out  of  chaos.  Some  of  the  divisions  which  the  Census 
records  are  due  to  differences  of  language;  others  are  the  survival 
on  this  side  of  the  water  of  Old  World  controversies  which  have 
largely  lost  their  meaning;  still  others  are  due  to  individual  or 
transient  causes.  Of  the  25,000,000  Protestant  church  members, 
the   greater  number  are   found  in  seven  or  eight   large  groups; 

^"Religious  Bodies,"  1916,  Part  I,  p.  30.  The  number,  according  to  the 
Year  Book  of  the  Federal  Council,  had  risen  in  1921  to  400,000.  During  the 
same  period,  according  to  the  figures  given  in  the  World  Almanac,  the  num- 
ber of  Jews  in  the  country  increased  nearly  a  million,  and  those  in  New 
York  City  from  975,000  to  1,500,000. 

'  Laidlaw,  "Roman  Catholicism  and  Protestantism,"  p.  13. 

*  According  to  the  figures  given  in  the  Federal  Council  Year  Book  for  1921, 
the  number  of  Mormons  had  risen  to  587,918.    Cf.  Laidlaw,  op.  clt.,  p.  3. 


70  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

namely,  the  Methodists,  Baptists,  Lutherans,  Presbyterians,  Dis- 
ciples, Episcopalians,  Congregationalists,  and  Reformed.  Two 
millions  are  distributed  among  a  dozen  smaller  denominations, 
of  whom  the  German  Evangelical  Synod,  the  United  Brethren,  and 
the  Churches  of  Christ  together  account  for  nearly  half.  The 
problem,  therefore,  of  uniting  American  Protestantism  resolves  it- 
self largely  into  the  attitude  of  about  a  dozen  large  groups  to  one 
another. 

In  most  of  the  larger  denominations  there  is  free  interchange 
both  of  ministers  and  of  members.  The  type  of  service  which  pre- 
vails is  in  the  main  similar  and  the  consciousness  of  membership 
in  the  one  Church  of  Christ  common  to  all.  Of  the  larger  bodies 
the  Lutherans,  Episcopalians,  and  Southern  Baptists  draw  the  line 
of  demarcation  between  their  own  members  and  those  of  other 
churches  most  strictly,  but  for  the  others  the  differences  which  sep- 
arate them  are  rather  differences  of  history  and  of  administration 
than  of  profound  religious  or  ecclesiastical  conviction. 

There  are,  however,  two  exceptions  to  this  statement  which 
should  be  noted:  one,  the  difference  caused  by  the  race  question; 
the  other,  that  due  to  doctrinal  differences.  In  three  of  the  larger 
Protestant  denominations — the  Methodists,  the  Baptists,  and,  to  a 
less  extent,  the  Presbyterians — the  most  serious  line  of  cleavage, 
namely  that  between  the  Northern  and  Southern  churches,^  is  due 
in  part  to  the  different  attitude  taken  to  the  Negro.  In  the 
Northern  church  the  Negro  minister  is  admitted  to  full  parity  with 
his  white  fellow-minister  in  presbytery,  council,  or  conference, 
whereas  the  South  has  organized  the  Negroes  into  separate  self- 
governing  churches.^    While  there  are  other  questions  at  issue  be- 

^The  terms  Northern  and  Southern  are  used  for  convenience,  though  they 
are  not  strictly  accurate.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (frequently 
though  inaccurately  known  as  the  Northern  Church)  has  in  the  South  and  on 
the  border  between  700,000  and  800,000  members.  The  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  U.  S.  A.  (the  Northern  Church)  also  has  many  members  in  the 
South.     Nor  are  the  Baptists  divided  by  any  strict  geographical  line. 

'  It  should  in  fairness  be  said  that  while  the  law  of  the  Northern  churches 
permits  colored  pastors  to  sit  with  white  pastors  in  the  same  conference  or 
presbytery,  and  individuals  do  so,  the  great  bulk  of  the  Negro  membership  is 
distributed  in  Negro  conferences  or  presbyteries.  In  General  Conference  and 
General  Assembly,  however,  white  and  Negro  delegates  sit  side  by  side. 
This  could  not,  under  present  conditions,  occur  in  the  Southern  denominations. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  71 

tween  the  Northern  and  Southern  churches,  this  difference  of  at- 
titude toward  the  Negro  to-day  presents  one  of  the  most  serious 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  their  reunion. 

To  theological  difference  is  due  the  existence  as  separate 
churches  of  the  Unitarians  and  the  Universalists,  the  former  owing 
their  origin  to  differences  of  view  as  to  the  person  of  Christ  and  His 
relation  to  the  Godhead;  the  latter  to  differences  of  view  as  to 
the  extent  of  God's  saving  purpose  for  mankind.  The  conserva- 
tive character  of  the  American  Church  as  a  whole,  as  well  as  the 
difficulty  of  founding  a  church  on  doctrinal  considerations  alone, 
appears  in  the  relatively  small  membership  of  these  two  churches 
whose  influence  has  been  rather  indirect  through  their  contribu- 
tion to  liberal  thought  and  sentiment  than  through  any  large  ac- 
cessions from  the  older  churches. 

But  though  doctrinal  differences  alone  have  not  been  the  de- 
termining factor  in  bringing  about  denominational  divisions,^  they 
have  had,  and  still  have,  an  important  influence  in  shaping  the 
policy  of  the  different  communions.  In  each  of  the  larger  bodies 
we  find  a  party  which  advocates  a  liberal  interpretation  of  the 
standards  of  the  church  and  a  party  which  holds  to  strict  con- 
struction, and  the  fear  of  each  of  these  parties  of  what  the  other 
might  do,  if  it  gained  the  upper  hand,  is,  as  we  shall  see  later,^  an 
important  factor  in  determining  its  attitude  to  the  various  pro- 
posals for  co-operation  and  union  which  we  shall  take  up  in  the 
present  discussion.  Thus  in  the  debate  which  is  now  going  on  as 
to  reunion  between  Northern  and  Southern  Presbyterians  the  more 
liberal  views  of  the  former  church  have  frequently  been  cited  by 
conservative  members  of  the  latter  body  as  an  argument  against 
organic  union;  and  the  hospitality  of  many  Northern  Baptists  to 
modern  views  of  the  Bible  and  their  less  rigid  view  of  baptism  are 
viewed  with  suspicion  by  their  Southern  brethren.  Similar  theo- 
logical differences  are  found  in  other  bodies,  a  conspicuous  illus- 
tration being  the  difference  between  the  Protestant  and  Catholic 
parties  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

*  Even  in  the  case  of  the  division  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  into  Old  and 
New  Schools  in  1837,  when  theological  controversy  was  so  acute,  practical  as 
well  as  doctrinal  considerations  were  operative. 

'Ci.  p.  256. 


72  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Such  in  brief  is  the  present  condition  of  American  Protestantism 
as  seen  by  the  statistician.^  What  are  the  outstanding  character- 
istics of  the  group  of  churches  whose  numbers  and  denominational 
distribution  we  have  passed  in  review? 

3.    Outstanding  Characteristics  of  the  American  Church— Its  Pro- 
vincialism and  Individualism — Influence  of  the 
Denominational  Spirit 

Taking  the  American  Church  as  a  whole,  the  first  characteristic 
that  strikes  us  as  worthy  of  note  is  its  provincialism.  By  this  I 
mean  the  tendency  of  each  local  congregation  or  group  of  congre- 
gations to  think  of  itself  as  a  self-sufficient  whole.  That  which 
has  been  true  of  the  political  life  of  the  nation,  and  which  has 
rendered  any  large  national  policies  so  difficult  of  attainment,  has 
been  equally,  perhaps  even  more,  true  of  its  religion.  Not  only  has 
there  been  little  contact  with  European  religious  problems,  but 
there  has  been  little  effort  to  grasp  the  problems  of  the  country 
as  a  whole.  The  place  in  which  a  man  has  lived  and  voted,  or 
at  least  the  state  to  which  his  primary  political  loyalty  has  been 
due,  has  been  the  centre  of  his  religious  interest  and  responsibility. 

This  limitation  has  been  accentuated  by  the  differences  in  the 
character  of  the  religious  life  of  different  sections  of  the  country. 
The  Episcopal  church  in  Virginia,  the  Congregationalism  of  Puritan 
New  England,  the  Presbyterianism  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Middle 
West,  the  Lutheranism  of  Missouri  and  the  Northwest,  the  Baptist 
churches  of  the  South,  all  have  their  marked  characteristics,  sep- 
arating them  from  their  fellow-Christians  of  other  communions  and 

^  In  the  above  sketch  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  take  account  of  relative 
gain  or  loss.  Reference  to  previous  Census  reports  shows  that  relatively  to  the 
population  of  the  country  the  churches  have  held  their  own  and  on  the  whole 
have  gained  ground.  Where  there  were  21,699,432  members  in  the  churches 
in  1890,  there  were  in  1916  nearly  42,000,000,  whereas  during  the  same  period 
the  population  of  the  country  as  a  whole  increased  from  62,622,250  to  102,- 
017,312.  Since  1916  the  increase  has  been  even  more  rapid.  While  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  remains  first  in  numerical  increase,  in  the  proportion  of  its 
increase  relatively  to  other  churches  it  ranks  36.  From  1906  to  1916,  the  period 
covered  by  government  Census  returns,  the  Catholics  had  a  growth  of  10.6 
per  cent,  while  the  various  Protestant  bodies  grew  from  17.4  to  28.2  per  cent. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  ten  years  the  English-speaking  Catholic 
churches  grew  1.5  per  cent.,  while  the  foreign-speaking  churches  grew  22.1  per 
cent.    Cf.  Laidlaw,  quoted  in  the  Christian  Century,  January  19,  1922. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  73 

making  it  natural  for  them  to  conceive  of  Christianity  as  a  whole 
after  their  own  type. 

This  provincialism  has  been  in  part  corrected,  in  part  accen- 
tuated, by  the  denominationalism  of  American  Christianity.  From 
one  point  of  view  the  denomination  has  been  an  enlarging  and  lib- 
erating influence.  It  has  extended  its  work  beyond  the  local  com- 
munity, and  in  the  case  of  the  larger  communions,  has  taken  in 
the  country  as  a  whole.  It  has  extended  farther  than  this,  for,  as 
we  shall  see,  it  has  been  the  point  of  contact  between  the  local  com- 
munity and  the  missionary  enterprise  of  the  Church  in  the  widest 
sense — home  and  foreign.  But  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  had  its 
limiting  influence  as  well.  It  has  accentuated  the  divisive  features 
in  American  Christianity.  It  has  applied  an  absolute  standard  to 
local  peculiarities  and  made  it  easy  for  a  man  to  identify  his  own 
particular  type  of  Christianity  with  that  of  the  Church  universal. 

This  feature  of  denominational  Christianity  has  been  often  criti- 
cized. But  it  is  possible  to  over-emphasize  it  and  to  minimize  the 
good  effects  of  the  denominational  system.  The  picture  of  Amer- 
ican Christianity  as  a  strife  of  warring  sects  is  a  serious  misrepre- 
sentation. The  chief  danger  of  denominationalism  is  not  that  it 
leads  us  to  attack  our  fellow-Christians,  but  that  it  makes  us  con- 
tent to  ignore  them.  Denominationalism  may  identify  its  own  en- 
terprises with  those  of  ecumenical  Christianity  and  lead  its  ad- 
herents to  regard  other  forms  of  Christian  belief  or  worship  as 
negligible  or  unimportant;  but  at  least  it  reminds  them  of  a  world 
larger  than  Smithtown  and  Jonesville.  It  is  the  means  through 
which  the  members  of  the  local  congregations  realize  their  member- 
ship in  the  Church  universal. 

The  ecumenical  character  of  denominationalism  appears  most 
clearly  in  Methodism.  One  of  the  youngest  of  the  larger  de- 
nominations, the  genius  of  John  Wesley  has  stamped  upon  this  new 
and  flourishing  branch  of  the  Church  a  missionar>'  zeal  and  or- 
ganizing power  which  has  made  it  within  the  compass  of  a  single 
century  the  strongest  of  all  the  Protestant  denominations.  In  no 
other  church  Is  denominational  unity  more  systematically  culti- 
vated. In  no  other  is  the  world-wide  mission  of  the  denomination 
more  largely  conceived  or  more  vigorously  prosecuted.  It  was  en- 
tirely natural  that  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  should  have 
been  conceived  and  most  largely  promoted  by  Methodists. 


74  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

A  third  characteristic  of  the  American  Church,  closely  associated 
with  the  preceding,  is  its  individualism.  By  this  is  meant  the  extent 
to  which  religion  is  conceived  in  terms  of  the  relation  between  the 
individual  soul  and  God.  This  was  a  direct  inheritance  of  American 
Christianity  from  the  Puritanism  to  which  it  owed  its  origin.  It  is 
true  that  Puritanism  had  another  side.  The  stricter  Protestants 
not  only  believed  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  set  the 
individual  soul  right  with  God,  but  that  the  soul  so  redeemed  should 
organize  society  so  as  to  conform  to  the  divine  ideal  of  conduct. 
Calvin  in  Geneva  and  Knox  in  Scotland  were  statesmen  as  well  as 
preachers,  and  Cromwell  incarnated  for  a  few  brief  years  the  Puri- 
tan ideal  of  the  theocratic  state.  But  with  the  early  separation  of 
church  and  state  in  this  country  the  theocratic  side  of  Puritanism 
fell  into  the  background  and  its  individualism  was  accentuated. 
The  great  revival  movements  which  from  time  to  time  swept  over 
the  country  had  for  their  primary  purpose  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners, and  Methodism,  the  most  powerful  as  well  as  the  most  highly 
organized  of  all  the  American  denominations,  shared  and  indeed  ac- 
centuated the  evangelistic  passion. 

The  individualistic  type  of  religion,  common  to  all  the  larger 
denominations  in  spite  of  their  differences,  is  but  the  reflex  in  re- 
ligion of  the  democratic  spirit  of  the  American  people.  The  sense 
of  individual  responsibility  for  one's  own  life,  and  a  willingness 
to  accept  the  consequences  of  one's  own  acts  in  success  or  failure, 
has  been  from  the  first  a  characteristic  of  life  in  America.  Each 
man  is  expected  to  carve  out  his  own  life  as  he  can.  It  is  not  for 
his  neighbor  to  dictate  what  he  shall  do. 

This  individualism,  while  it  has  accentuated  the  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility in  religion,  has  reinforced  the  tendency  to  narrowness 
which  we  have  already  noted.  Taking  American  Christianity  as  a 
whole  we  find  no  large  and  comprehensive  plan  for  the  country. 
Each  denomination  works  out  its  own  programme  for  itself  and,  in 
spite  of  certain  promising  movements  toward  unity  to  which  we 
shall  have  occasion  presently  to  refer,  has  hitherto  maintained  its 
own  autonomy  and  independence.  And  what  is  true  of  the  de- 
nomination is  still  more  true  of  the  local  church.  We  shall  study 
in  a  later  chapter  the  ways  in  which  the  local  church  is  beginning 
to  minister  to  the  needs  of  the  community  in  which  it  is  located. 
The  tall  white  spire  rising  to  heaven  is  not  only  a  reminder  of  re- 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  75 

ligion;  in  many  an  American  village  it  is  an  invitation  to  fellow- 
ship. The  church  is  social  club  as  well  as  place  of  worship,  and 
the  kitchen  and  the  library  are  features  of  its  architecture  for  which 
one  looks  in  vain  in  European  countries.  But  this  social  conscious- 
ness is  only  beginning  to  reach  beyond  the  local  community.  It  has 
not  yet  made  itself  the  dominating  factor  in  the  life  of  the  Church 
as  a  whole. 

In  this  respect,  the  experience  of  the  Protestant  bodies  presents 
a  marked  contrast  to  that  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in 
America.  Always  the  church  of  a  minority,  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  has  visiialized  its  task  as  a  national  one  and  planned  ac- 
cordingly. In  the  great  cities  it  has  chosen  the  strategic  sites  for 
its  churches  years  before  they  were  needed,  has  laid  out  its  pro- 
gramme on  a  parish  basis,  where  Protestanism  was  content  to  let 
chance  or  liking  decide,  and  financed  its  enterprises  by  an  every 
member  canvass  long  before  Protestantism  discovered  the  envelope 
system.  As  a  result  it  occupies  a  place  and  wields  an  influence 
in  the  country  out  of  all  proportion  to  its  numbers,  as  Protestants 
learned  to  their  surprise  when  the  war  came. 

The  lack  of  a  nation-wide  constructive  policy  is  the  more  sur- 
prising because  of  the  genius  of  the  American  for  organization.  In 
no  other  country  has  the  study  of  machinery  been  carried  so  far.  In 
no  other  have  large  views  of  what  can  be  accomplished  by  organized 
effort  been  more  systematically  cultivated.  But  in  America  this 
genius  has  been  put  at  the  service  of  private  and  individual  inter- 
ests— a  particular  business,  a  private  philanthropy.  Each  group 
has  tried  to  promote  its  own  interests  as  if  they  were  the  only  thing 
to  be  considered.  There  has  been  little  sense  of  responsibility  to 
the  nation  as  a  whole,  still  less  to  mankind  of  which  the  nation  is 
a  part.  This  characteristic  phenomenon  of  great  organized  power 
serving  interests  which  are  partial,  if  not  in  themselves  narrow,  re- 
appears in  American  Christianity.^ 

*  Interesting  illustrations  of  this  power  of  organization  as  appliedito  religion 
appear  in  the  two  new  religions  which  owe  their  origin  to  America — Mor- 
monism  and  Christian  Science.  In  each  case  reasons  can  be  given  for  the 
growth  of  the  rehgion  which  are  independent  of  the  intelligence  and  organiz- 
ing skill  of  the  promoters,  but  in  each  case  it  is  equally  true  that  this  skill 
has  powerfully  reinforced  the  other  motives  to  which  the  religions  appeal. 
This  is  the  more  noteworthy  in  the  case  of  Christian  Science,  which  as  a  mys- 
tical religion  would  not  seem  fertile  soil  for  the  growth  of  a  strong  denomina- 


76  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

In  this  connection  we  may  refer  to  another  feature  of  American 
Protestantism  which  has  frequently  subjected  it  to  criticism; 
namely,  the  fact  that  in  contrast  to  Roman  Catholicism  it  has  be- 
come to  a  large  extent  the  Church  of  the  well-to-do.  So  far  as  this 
is  true — and  taking  the  country  at  large  it  is  far  less  true  than  the 
critics  would  have  us  believe — it  is  the  natural  result  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  freedom  which  we  have  seen  to  be  inherent  in  American 
Protestantism.  With  the  rejection  of  the  state  church,  the  support 
of  religion  has  been  thrown  entirely  upon  private  initiative,  and 
under  the  circumstances  it  was  natural,  indeed  all  but  inevitable, 
that  those  who  had  the  largest  means  should  come  to  have  a  dis- 
proportionate share  of  the  control.  One  would  not  minimize  the 
evil,  but  it  would  be  no  less  a  mistake  to  magnify  it.  What  we  see 
to-day  is  not  the  final  stage  of  American  Protestantism,  but  only  a 
phase  through  which,  in  common  with  the  democracy  of  which  it 
is  a  part,  it  is  passing.  The  remedy  is  not  in  the  abandonment 
of  the  principle  of  the  free  support  of  religion,  but  in  its  extension 
until  the  basis  of  control  is  shifted.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
raises  large  sums  from  people  of  moderate  means  because  it  insists 
upon  systematic  giving.  The  same  thing  can  be  done  in  the  Protes- 
tant churches.  Indeed,  as  we  shall  see  in  later  chapters,  it  is  al- 
ready being  done  on  a  nation-wide  scale.  With  this  change  in  the 
method  of  the  support  of  religion  we  are  witnessing  a  correspond- 
ing broadening  of  the  basis  of  control.  Where  no  other  remedy  is 
possible,  there  remains  always  for  those  who  find  existing  organi- 
zations too  narrow  the  way  of  the  first  Protestants.  Let  them  form 
new  organizations  of  their  own  to  express  their  deepest  convic- 
tions. These  in  time,  like  the  older  denominations,  when  their 
educative  work  has  been  done,  will  find  their  place  in  the  larger 
unity  of  a  reformed  and  truly  democratic  Protestantism. 

4.    The  Relation  of  the  American  Church  to  the  State — Similarities 
and  Differences  in  Organization  and  Spirit 

It  will  help  us  to  understand  the  characteristics  of  which  we 
have  been  speaking  if  we  remind  ourselves  of  the  attitude  of  the 

tional  consciousness,  but  which  in  the  course  of  its  history  has  developed  a 
central  organization  of  a  highly  autocratic  character,  thus  giving  us  a  new 
illustration  of  the  truth  of  which  the  history  of  Roman  Catholicism  is  so 
signal  an  example,  that  mysticism  and  autocracy  are  congenial  companions. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  77 

American  people  to  the  other  great  institution  which  claims  their 
allegiance — the  state.  The  statement  has  sometimes  been  made 
that  our  present  national  government  was  modelled  after  that 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  there  seems  no  ground  for  such  an 
assertion.  Nevertheless,  there  are  similarities  in  the'  attitude  of 
the  American  people  toward  government  both  in  state  and  church 
which  make  a  study  of  their  relationships  illuminating. 

Like  the  founders  of  the  republic,  those  who  were  responsible 
for  shaping  the  polity  of  our  American  churches  had  a  lively  fear 
of  a  strong  central  government.  Theocratic  government  passed 
with  the  aristocratic  state  of  which  it  was  a  part,  and  in  its  place 
came  the  representative  system  with  its  elaborate  arrangement  of 
checks  and  balances.  As  the  national  government  came  into  ex- 
istence through  the  federation  of  pre-existing  state  governments, 
each  jealous  of  its  independence  and  prerogatives,  so  the  nation- 
wide ecclesiastical  units  we  call  denominations  were  built  up 
gradually  through  the  combination  of  various  smaller  groups — the 
presbytery,  the  classis,  the  conference,  the  diocese,  as  the  case 
may  be,  as  these  in  turn  had  been  built  up  through  the  union  of 
individual  local  congregations.  The  history  in  each  case  is  a  dif- 
ferent one,  varying  with  the  genius  of  the  denomination  in  question. 
Of  these  differences  we  shall  have  presently  to  speak.  But  common 
to  all  the  churches,  even  such  highly  organized  bodies  as  the  Pres- 
byterians and  the  Episcopalians,  was  the  distrust  of  a  strong  cen- 
tral authority,  the  determination  to  keep  for  the  local  body,  whether 
it  were  parish  or  presbytery,  its  inherent  right  of  self-government 
and  self-determination. 

This  explains  a  feature  of  American  Protestantism  to  which 
we  have  already  referred  and  to  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
recur  more  than  once  again;  namely,  its  inability  to  carry  through 
any  strong  and  consistent  national  policy.  This  is  due  in  no  small 
degree  to  the  fact  that  the  different  churches  of  which  it  is  made 
up  have  no  permanent  executives  through  whom  such  a  policy  can 
be  put  into  effect.  The  supreme  judicatory  in  each  case  is  a  body 
meeting  at  considerable  intervals,  consisting  of  representatives 
elected  by  the  subordinate  judicatories  whose  personnel  changes 
from  year  to  year  and  which  in  any  case  exercise  strictly  limited 
powers.  This  is  true  not  simply  of  bodies  like  the  Congrega- 
tionalists  and  Baptists,  where  final  authority  rests  with  the  local 


78  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

congregation,  but  of  more  highly  organized  churches  like  the  Pres- 
byterians and  Methodists.  Even  of  the  Episcopalians  it  is  true  that 
unlike  their  sister  churches  of  other  lands  they  have  no  archbishop 
in  whom  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  symbolized  and  to  whom  the 
permanent  conduct  of  its  affairs  is  committed. 

A  second  feature  of  American  Church  polity,  in  which  its  demo- 
cratic character  is  apparent,  is  the  large  share  given  to  laymen 
in  church  government.  Unlike  many  of  the  churches  of  other  lands, 
the  American  churches  almost  without  exception  give  laymen  an 
equal  share  with  clergymen  in  the  management  of  their  affairs. 
Laymen  sit  in  their  highest  judicatories.  They  are  represented 
on  their  permanent  committees.  They  share  with  the  clergy 
the  responsibility  not  simply  for  the  financial  affairs  of  the 
church,  but  for  the  administration  of  its  missionary  policy.  In- 
deed, it  may  be  said  with  confidence  that  there  has  never  been 
a  group  of  churches  since  Christianity  began  in  whose  manage- 
ment laymen  had  so  responsible  a  part.  And  while  it  is  true,  as 
we  have  already  seen,^  that  women  have  only  recently  been  admitted 
to  any  large  share  in  the  management  of  the  Church,  it  is  yet  sig- 
nificant that  long  before  they  won  political  suffrage,  they  enjoyed 
the  right,  as  members  of  local  congregations,  to  vote  on  all  parish 
affairs,  including  so  important  a  matter  as  the  choice  of  a  minister. 
It  would  seem,  therefore,  only  to  be  a  matter  of  time  when  this 
privilege  will  be  extended  to  include  membership  in  the  larger 
representative  bodies,  as  indeed  has  already  been  done  in  the 
Methodist,  Congregational,  and  Baptist  denominations. 

But  if  the  American  Church  is  like  the  state  in  its  lack  of  cen- 
tralized power  and  its  broad  basis  of  representation,  it  differs  from 
it  in  the  absence  of  any  officially  recognized  party  system.  This 
does  not  mean,  of  course,  that  there  are  no  parties  in  the  American 
Church  in  the  sense  of  groups  of  men  who  voluntarily  associate 
themselves  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  policies  in  which  they 
believe.  Wherever  there  is  government  there  are  parties.  It  be- 
longs to  human  nature  that  men  should  differ  in  their  views  of 
what  ought  to  be  done  and  that  they  should  organize  in  support  of 
the  policy  in  which  they  believe.  What  differentiates  the  party 
system  as  we  have  it  in  America  from  the  party  system  elsewhere 
is  that  the  existing  parties  are  recognized  by  law  and  surrounded 

'  Cf .  pp.  29,  30. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  79 

with  official  sanctions  which  make  them  an  essential  part  of  our  sys- 
tem of  government.  There  is  nothing  corresponding  to  this  in  the 
polity  of  the  American  churches.  Whatever  differences  there  may 
be  remain  unofficial  and  private.  The  conservative  of  yesterday 
may  become  the  liberal  of  to-day  and  vice  versa.  When  men  of 
good  will  in  the  Church  wish  to  unite  in  some  constructive  policy 
and  are  able  to  convince  the  majority  of  their  fellow-Christians 
that  their  views  ought  to  prevail,  they  are  not  hampered  by  the 
obstacles  which  the  existing  party  system  puts  in  the  way  of  similar 
action  in  the  political  sphere. 

The  best  illustration  of  the  Church's  ability  to  unite  men  of 
different  views  in  common  action  is  furnished  by  the  missionary 
and  educational  agencies.  In  their  Boards  of  Home  and  Foreign 
Missions,  as  well  as  in  their  College  Boards  and  Sunday-school 
agencies,  the  churches  have  created  powerful  administrative  bodies 
which  raise  and  spend  large  sums  of  money  for  purposes  which  re- 
quire continuity  of  administration.  These  powers  are  cheerfully 
granted  because  the  purpose  for  which  the  boards  exist  commands 
the  confidence  of  all  parties  in  the  Church  and  so  makes  them  the 
most  effective  of  all  possible  organs  of  unity. 

In  general  the  relation  between  church  and  state  in  this  country 
is  one  of  mutual  co-operation  and  respect.  The  principle  of  separa- 
tion between  state  and  church  is  generally  accepted  and  its  wisdom 
all  but  universally  approved.  The  principle  has  its  drawbacks,  to 
be  sure,  as  in  the  matter  of  the  teaching  of  religion  in  the  schools, 
but  these  are  generally  regarded  as  a  cheap  price  to  pay  for  the  ad- 
vantages which  it  secures,  and  any  attempt  to  divert  public  funds 
to  religious  purposes  (as,  for  example,  for  the  support  of  parochial 
schools)   would  meet  with  instant  disapproval. 

There  is,  however,  one  conspicuous  exception  to  the  principle 
of  the  absolute  separation  of  church  and  state,  and  that  is  the 
provision  in  the  laws  of  the  various  states  which  exempts  the 
property  of  religious  and  charitable  bodies  from  taxation.  This  is  in 
effect  a  method  of  subsidizing  religion,  but  it  operates  in  so  general 
a  way  as  to  involve  no  discrimination  between  different  forms  of 
religious  belief  and  to  maintain  the  central  interest  which  underlies 
the  separation  of  church  and  state,  namely,  the  equality  of  all  re- 
ligions before  the  law. 

A  second  point  of  contact  between  the  Church  and  the  state  is 


80  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

found  in  the  laws  which  regulate  the  administration  of  trust  funds. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  the  state,  the  Church  is  a  corporation  like 
other  corporations,  holding  its  funds  under  a  charter  derived  from 
the  state.^  In  the  administration  of  these  funds  the  state  is  disposed 
to  allow  the  Church  every  latitude,  particularly  in  matters  affecting 
the  interpretation  of  the  religious  purposes  for  which  the  funds  were 
given.  Only  in  case  of  dispute  between  the  church  members  them- 
selves is  the  state  forced  to  act  as  arbiter  in  ecclesiastical  matters, 
as,  for  example,  in  the  case  of  a  controversy  between  a  local 
congregation  and  the  denomination  to  which  it  belongs  as  to  the  use 
to  be  made  of  certain  property,  or  between  the  majority  and  the 
minority  of  a  denomination  in  the  case  of  a  proposed  merger  with 
another  body  as  to  the  right  to  control  the  denominational  funds. 
In  all  such  cases,  the  initiative  comes  from  the  Church,  not  the 
state.  So  far  as  it  is  possible  to  do  so,  the  secular  authorities  are 
disposed  to  grant  the  representatives  of  the  churches  the  most  com- 
plete autonomy. 

But  while  jealously  guarding  the  principle  of  the  separation 
of  state  and  church,  the  American  people  are  equally  insistent  upon 
the  fact  that  their  country  is  a  Christian  nation.  This  appears  in 
the  practice  of  opening  Congress  with  prayer,  in  the  President's 
annual  Thanksgiving  proclamation,  and  in  the  provision  by  Con- 
gress for  chaplains  in  the  army  and  navy.  The  Presidents  of  the 
United  States  have  been  almost  without  exception  members  of  some 
recognized  Christian  church  and  have  shown  their  respect  for  re- 
ligion by  regular  church  attendance.  The  churches  have  always 
been  free  to  address  the  chief  magistrate  in  matters  which  seemed 
to  them  of  spiritual  significance,  in  the  confidence  that  their  right 
to  do  so  would  be  recognized  and  their  address  received  in  a  sym- 
pathetic spirit.  A  recent  example  was  an  open  letter  apropos  of 
disarmament  addressed  to  President  Harding,  through  the  editorial 
columns  of  a  leading  Protestant  religious  journal^  under  the  cap- 
tion, "To  President  Harding,  Christian."  In  this  letter  the  writer 
appeals  to  the  President  to  approach  the  problems  of  the  disarma- 
ment conference  not  simply  in  the  spirit  of  the  statesman  and  the 
politician,  but  as  one  who  voices  the  hopes   and  aspiration  of 

*0n  the  law  governing  religious  corporations,  cf.  Frank  White  and  God- 
frey Goldmark,  "Non-Stock  Corporations,"  New  York,  1913,  pp.  301-422. 
'Christian  Century,  October  20,  1921. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  81 

millions  of  his  fellow-Christians.  Most  Americans,  whatever  they 
might  think  of  the  substance  of  the  letter,  would  agree  that  in 
making  such  an  appeal  the  writer  was  entirely  within  his  rights. 

5.    Significant  Denominational   Types 

Thus  far  we  have  had  in  view  American  Christianity  as  a  whole 
and  have  tried  to  point  out  its  outstanding  characteristics.  But 
within  this  territory  there  are  significant  differences.  These  dif- 
ferences correspond  roughly  to  the  larger  denominational  groups 
with  which  our  survey  has  made  us  familiar.  It  will  add  vividness 
to  our  sketch  and  help  us  to  approach  our  later  study  more  in- 
telligently if  we  remind  ourselves  briefly  what  the  more  important 
of  these  groups  are  like. 

At  one  pole  of  our  American  Protestantism  stands  that  large 
group  of  churches  which  make  the  local  congregation  the  consti- 
tutive element  in  the  Church.  Of  these  the  Congregationalists  may 
be  taken  as  typical.  The  Congregationalists  inherited  the  Puritan 
tradition  in  its  independent  form  and  gave  spiritual  tone  to  New 
England  during  the  formative  period;  and  while  in  the  course  of 
time  Congregationalism  has  softened  the  rigidity  of  its  earlier  Cal- 
vinism and  has  become  hospitable  to  new  ideas  in  religion,  it  still 
retains  a  belief  in  the  autonomy  of  the  local  congregation,  and  a 
suspicion  of  all  forms  of  prelacy.  Among  the  large  denominations, 
the  Congregationalists  have  been  one  of  the  slowest  to  yield  to  the 
centralizing  tendency  of  our  day,  and  their  Mission  Boards  still 
remain  in  theory  voluntary  societies  maintained  by  the  contribu- 
tions of  individual  congregations  and  Christians. 

In  their  emphasis  upon  the  right  of  the  individual  congrega- 
tion to  complete  independence  and  autonomy,  the  Baptists  are  at 
one  with  the  Congregationalists,  but  they  carry  their  individualism 
still  farther.  Congregationalists  generally  share  with  the  older 
churches  the  belief  that  the  family  is  a  spiritual  unit  and  they 
therefore  retain  the  practice  of  infant  baptism.  In  their  reaction 
against  sacramentarianism  the  Baptists  reject  this  practice.  They 
insist  on  believers'  baptism  and  hold  a  theory  of  the  Church  which 
makes  individual  faith  a  prerequisite  to  baptism.  It  was  their 
protest  which  won  freedom  from  the  restrictions  of  the  early  the- 
ocracy, and  to  this  day  they  reject  in  theory  all  man-made  creeds 
and  carry  out  more  consistently  than  any  other  body  of  their  fellow- 


82  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Christians,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Disciples,  the  original 
Protestant  principle  that  the  Bible  and  the  Bible  alone  is  the  rule 
of  faith  and  practice.  Yet  on  the  basis  of  free  co-operation  they 
have  been  able  to  build  up  powerful  missionary  agencies  and  in  their 
recently  established  Board  of  Promotion  the  Northern  Baptists  have 
created  a  central  council  through  which  they  are  able  to  function 
effectively  for  common  ends  and  to  co-operate  with  other  churches.^ 
With  over  7,800,000  communicants,  North  and  South,  the  Bap- 
tists share  with  the  Methodists  the  numerical  leadership  among 
American  Protestants,  and  no  one  who  desires  to  understand  the 
genius  of  American  religious  life  can  afford  to  pass  them  by. 

It  is  a  natural  consequence  of  the  democratic  philosophy  of  the 
Congregationalists  and  Baptists  that  they  should  be  more  hos- 
pitable than  other  Christian  bodies  to  the  ministry  of  women.  In 
the  Baptist  Church  there  are  already  a  number  of  ordained  women 
preachers,  and  the  same  is  true,  though  not  to  so  large  an  extent, 
of  the  Congregational  Church. 

Most  extreme  of  all  Protestant  Christians  in  their  opposition 
to  forms  and  ceremonies  and  in  their  interest  in  a  purely  spiritual 
religion  are  the  Friends.  Relatively  few  in  numbers,  they  have 
remained  from  the  first  a  leaven  in  our  American  Christianity  whose 
value  to  the  whole  can  scarcely  be  over-estimated.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  in  proportion  to  their  numbers  they  have  done 
more  to  foster  vital  religion  and  make  faith  bear  fruit  in  works 
than  any  other  equal  number  of  American  Christians. 

Of  the  Unitarians  we  have  already  spoken.  They  represent  the 
left  wing  of  American  Protestantism,  the  group  which  has  carried 
freedom  of  thought  to  greater  length  than  any  other  body  of  Amer- 
ican Christians  and  made  it  the  constitutive  principle  of  their 
church. 

'  It  should  be  stated  that  this  tendency  to  centralization  is  strongly  resisted 
by  the  Southern  Baptists.  These  sturdy  Christians  who  constitute  the  extreme 
right  wing  of  Protestantism  are  unwilling  to  do  anything  which  would  seem 
to  limit  the  freedom  of  the  local  congregation.  Carrying  distrust  of  central- 
ized authority  farther  than  any  other  body  of  their  fellow-Christians,  they  hold 
aloof  even  from  such  innocent  forms  of  co-operation  as  the  Federal  Council. 
Yet  with  this  extreme  insistence  on  the  autonomy  of  the  local  congregation 
goes  also,  curiously  enough,  a  doctrine  of  close  communion  which  makes  them, 
in  spite  of  their  extreme  individualism,  the  most  exclusive  body  in  Protestant- 
ism, with  the  possible  exception  of  the  high-church  party  in  the  Episcopal 
Church. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  83 

At  the  other  pole  of  American  Christianity  stand  the  Episco- 
palians. Beginning  their  career  in  Virginia  as  the  Congregational- 
ists  did  in  New  England,  they  have  spread,  like  them,  to  all  parts 
of  the  country  and  to-day  possess  a  nation-wide  organization  with 
eighty-seven  dioceses  ^  and  over  a  million  communicants. 

In  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  the  sacramentarian  and 
mystical  type  of  religion  finds  expression  in  American  Christianity. 
More  conservative  than  the  other  branches  of  the  Church  in  its  at- 
tachment to  antiquity,  the  Episcopal  Church  values  the  Catholic 
tradition  which  it  has  inherited  and  cherishes  the  tics  which  bind 
it  to  the  older  churches.  Especially  close  has  been  the  relation  of 
the  American  Episcopal  Church  to  the  Church  of  England  from 
which  it  is  directly  descended — a  fact  evidenced  by  the  presence  of 
American  bishops  in  the  great  Councils  of  the  Anglican  Communion. 
Tolerant  in  its  theology  to  widely  divergent  views,  it  attaches  great 
importance  to  unity  of  organization,  and  more  than  any  other 
single  communion,  except  perhaps  the  Disciples,  feels  the  present 
divided  condition  of  the  Church  as  a  scandal.  Among  the  distinc- 
tive features  of  its  organization,  apart  from  the  Episcopate  itself, 
is  its  consistent  adoption  of  the  parish  system,  its  retention  of  the 
liturgy  in  public  worship,  and  the  central  place  given  to  the  sacra- 
ments. More  than  any  other  American  church  the  Episcopal  lays 
stress  upon  beauty  and  dignity  of  worship,  and  side  by  side  with 
its  parish  churches  it  is  building  stately  cathedrals  in  the  great 
centres  of  population  which  accommodate  large  numbers  of  wor- 
shippers and  minister  to  the  community  as  a  whole.  In  spite  of  the 
limitations  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made,  the  Episco- 
pate provides  this  church  with  a  leadership  which  makes  for  con- 
tinuity of  policy  and  gives  it  an  influence  in  the  religious  life  of 
America  out  of  all  proportion  to  its  numbers. 

Midway  between  the  Congregationalists  and  the  Episcopalians 
stand  the  Presbyterians — like  the  former  in  their  independence  and 
insistence  upon  local  autonomy;  like  the  latter  in  their  closely  ar- 
ticulated organization  and  their  inheritance  of  a  tradition  of  order 
and  dignity  in  worship.  Largely  recruited  from  English  and 
Scotch-Irish  sources,  they  have  organized  their  Presbyteries  from 
New  York  to  California,  and  through  their  membership  in  the  Al- 
liance of  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  churches  retain  close  aflBlia- 

*  According  to  the  Census  of  1916. 


84  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

tion  with  the  Presbyterians  of  other  lands.  Like  the  Episcopalians, 
Presbyterians  have  been  earnest  in  their  advocacy  of  Christian 
union  and  have  taken  a  prominent  part  in  various  plans  for  co- 
operation both  in  the  national  and  in  the  local  field.  Accepting 
as  their  standard  the  Westminster  Confession,  with  a  highly  de- 
veloped system  of  church  law  and  a  strong  sense  of  ecclesiastical 
tradition,  they  have  not  made  their  own  orthodoxy  a  reason  for 
denying  the  Christianity  of  other  churches  or  refusing  to  co-operate 
with  them  in  any  practicable  plan  for  the  establishment  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God. 

In  the  course  of  their  history,  Presbyterians  have  frequently 
divided,  sometimes  on  doctrinal  grounds,  at  others  for  reasons  of 
policy  or  temperament.  But  to-day  the  several  branches  of  Pres- 
byterians are  co-operating  practically  in  various  ways,  and  the 
movement  for  a  reunited  Presbyterianism  cannot  much  longer  be 
delayed.^  The  two  sister  churches  of  Presbyterian  polity,  the 
Dutch  Reformed  and  the  German  Reformed,  each  with  its  own  dis- 
tinctive genius  and  honorable  history,  will  no  doubt  be  included 
in  the  movement  for  reunion,  since  they  belong  to  the  same  gen- 
eral polity  and  inherit  similar  traditions. 

A  distinct  type  in  American  Christianity  is  represented  by  the 
Lutherans.  One  of  the  larger  Protestant  bodies  (they  number 
more  than  two  million  communicants),  they  have  until  recently 
been  one  of  the  most  isolated  and  independent.  As  the  Episco- 
palians represent  the  conservative  tendency  of  the  Reformed  move- 
ment in  the  sphere  of  polity  and  worship,  so  the  Lutherans  represent 
it  in  the  field  of  doctrine.  Like  the  Episcopalians  in  emphasizing 
the  value  of  the  sacrament,  to  them  the  creed,  or  as  they  would 
say,  the  confession,  is  the  formative  principle  of  the  church,  and 
its  acceptance  is  consistent  with  wide  variations  in  forms  of  govern- 
ment and  administration.  By  the  creed  they  understand  the  type 
of  doctrine  represented  in  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  the  older 
confessional  literature  which  interprets  it,  and  upon  the  perpetua- 
tion of  this  type  of  doctrine  and  the  securing  of  its  intelligent  ac- 
ceptance they  lay  great  stress.  The  devout  Lutheran  believes 
that  it  is  the  Christian's  supreme  privilege  and  duty  to  bear  wit- 
ness to  Christ  as  the  all-sufficient  Saviour;  and  he  can  allow  no 
word  or  act  of  his  to  obscure  this  testimony,  or  to  detract  from  the 

'  Yet  cf.  p.  256. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  85 

glory  of  Christ  as  the  only  Lord  and  Saviour.  The  Lutheran  holds 
that  the  Church's  proper  function  is  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  ad- 
minister the  sacraments,  and  that  it  must  not  trespass  upon  the 
domain  of  the  state.  It  must  provide  for  the  instruction  of  its 
people,  and  especially  the  children,  in  the  faith  and  duties  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  must  commend  its  Gospel  to  the  world  by 
works  of  ministering  love.  Many  of  the  Lutherans  maintain  their 
own  parochial  schools. 

In  carrying  out  this  ideal  the  Lutherans  have  not  always  found 
it  possible  to  agree  among  themselves  on  every  point  of  faith  and 
doctrine.  They  have  differed  also  in  regard  to  the  safeguards 
against  the  possible  corruption  or  obscuration  of  their  testimony. 
Such  differences  account  in  part  for  the  divisions  among  Luth- 
erans; for  to  them  unity  in  the  faith  is  of  greater  importance  than 
union  in  external  organization.  Their  divisions  are  due  also  to 
factors  of  language  and  nationality.  On  the  other  hand,  tendencies 
toward  union  among  themselves  have  been  at  work  for  many 
years,  and  aided  by  the  strong  impulse  given  by  the  war  they  have 
resulted  in  several  large  unions  and  in  important  co-operative  re- 
lationship between  bodies  not  organically  one. 

No  account  of  the  genius  of  American  Protestantism  would  be 
complete  which  did  not  include  an  appreciation  of  the  Methodists. 
One  of  the  latest  of  the  larger  denominations  to  arise,  they  have 
proved  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  effective.  In  Methodism  the 
genius  for  organization,  which  is  a  characteristic  feature  of  American 
life,  finds  a  fitting  vehicle  of  expression.  Beginning  modestly  in 
Wesley's  mission  to  the  United  States  and  the  labors  of  the  pioneers 
who  succeeded  him,  the  Methodists  have  built  up  a  nation-wide 
organization  which  includes  nearly  eight  million  communicants.^ 
Among  the  American  churches  they  alone  have  solved  the  problem 
of  the  vacant  pulpit  and  made  ministerial  unemployment  a  thing 
of  the  past.  Fervent  in  the  character  of  their  religious  life,  laying 
great  stress  on  personal  experience  and  the  practice  of  holiness,  they 
have  been  one  of  the  most  powerful  factors  in  evangelizing  the 
needy  parts  of  the  country  and  in  carrying  missions  to  the  other 
nations  as  well.  On  the  whole  they  are  conservative  in  their 
theology,  yet  they  have  proved  open  to  modern  ideas.  In  ideal 
at  least  they  believe  that  a  man's  education  does  not  end  with 

^  Cf .  p.  66. 


86  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

his  entry  into  the  ministry  and  have  made  provision  for  this  con- 
tinued education  in  their  system  of  annual  conferences.  With  un- 
failing appreciation  of  the  need  of  personal  conversion  and  conse- 
cration, they  have  been  hospitable  to  the  social  aspects  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  in  their  genius  for  organization  was  found  the  inspiration 
of  that  great  enterprise  of  co-operative  Christianity  which  we  know 
as  the  Interchurch  World  Movement.  Indeed,  so  effective  is  their 
own  work  that  they  are  sometimes  tempted  to  forget  that  there 
are  other  churches  as  well  and  to  under-estimate  the  contribution 
which  they  might  render  to  the  co-operative  movement  if  they 
would  throw  themselves  into  it  as  whole-heartedly  as  in  theory 
they  confess  they  ought  to  do. 

One  more  group  of  American  Protestants  needs  brief  mention 
and  that  is  the  Disciples.  Special  interest  attaches  to  them  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  they  arose  as  a  protest  against  denomina- 
tionalism  and  even  to-day  many  of  them  refuse  to  be  called  mem- 
bers of  a  denomination.  They  believe  that  there  can  be  only  one 
Church  and  to  that  end  would  have  all  Christians  return  to  the 
primitive  standards  and  ideals  of  the  New  Testament.  Like  the 
Baptists  they  reject  all  man-made  creeds.  Like  the  Baptists  they 
practise  baptism  by  immersion.  Like  the  Baptists  in  turn  they 
have  found  that  the  rejection  of  a  written  creed  does  not  free  them 
from  theological  differences.  Within  their  membership  we  find  the 
same  two  parties,  the  liberals  and  the  conservatives,  which  show 
themselves  in  every  human  organization  and  which  move  toward 
the  goal  of  unity  which  both  alike  have  at  heart  by  the  two  roads 
that  conservatives  and  liberals  have  taken  in  every  generation,  the 
former  by  asking  others  to  agree  with  them,  the  latter  by  trying 
to  find  some  common  ground  on  which  all  good  men  and  true  can 
unite.  To-day  the  Disciples  have  become  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses a  denomination  among  denominations,  retaining  as  a  re- 
minder of  their  original  motive  only  this:  that  among  their  various 
Mission  Boards  they  have  one  whose  sole  function  it  is  to  promote 
the  unity  of  the  Church. 

Such,  then,  are  some  of  the  more  outstanding  types  of  Amer- 
ican Protestantism.  Each  of  these  in  turn  has  its  own  divisions 
and  sub-divisions,  in  some  cases  more,  in  others  less,  numerous  and 
important.  Each  has  its  parties  emphasizing  different  aspects  of 
the  common  faith,  and  trying  to  shape  denominational  policy  ac- 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  87 

cording  to  its  own  conviction.  And  about  these  larger  groups  clus- 
ter a  number  of  smaller  bodies  ranging  in  size  from  many  thousands 
and  even  hundreds  of  thousands  to  a  few  hundreds  in  membership, 
expressing  aspects  of  Christian  faith  and  life  and  prcscrv^ing  the 
memory  of  episodes  in  Christian  history  into  which,  however  fas- 
cinating and  rewarding,  our  space  forbids  us  to  enter.^  Looking  at 
them  one  by  one  and  observing  in  each  in  varying  degree  the  limi- 
tations which  we  have  seen  to  be  characteristic  of  American  Chris- 
tianity as  a  whole,  we  might  well  question  whether  any  large  de- 
gree of  unity  is  possible  between  bodies  so  organized  and  who  inherit 
such  differing  traditions. 

6.    Factors  Making  for  a  Larger  and  More  Catholic 
Christianity 

But  this  is  only  one  side  of  the  picture — true  so  far  as  it  goes, 
but  unless  qualified,  misleading.  Side  by  side  with  these  divisive 
influences  other  forces  have  been  at  work  in  American  Christianity, 
preparing  for  a  larger  future.  These  we  must  now  consider  to 
make  our  picture  complete. 

We  are  not  thinking  here  of  the  permanent  capital  of  historic 
Christianity,  the  resources  laid  up  in  the  Christian  religion  and  al- 
ways available,  but  of  certain  special  factors  which  have  gone  into 
the  making  of  our  American  Christianity,  which  have  helped  it  to 
adjust  itself  to  present  needs  more  quickly  and  more  effectively 
than  it  could  otherwise  have  done.  Of  these  the  most  important 
for  our  purpose  are  the  following:  the  foreign-missionary  move- 
ment, the  new  home  missions,  the  social-ser\'ice  movement,  the 
movement  for  church  unity,  the  Christian  Associations  and  other 
voluntary  societies  of  Protestantism. 

First  in  importance  we  must  put  the  foreign-missionary  move- 

'  Of  the  denominations  with  more  than  50,000  members,  the  United  Breth- 
ren, with  367,000,  are  Methodist  in  polity,  as  is  true  also  of  the  Evangelical 
Association  (120,000)  and  the  United  Evangelicals  (89,000)  who  together  have 
more  than  200,000  members.  The  German  Evangelical  Synod  (339,000)  is 
Presbyterian  in  polity  and  carries  on  the  traditions  of  the  Union  Church  in 
Germany.  The  Churches  of  Christ  with  317,000  members  belong  to  the  same 
family  as  the  Disciples,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  Christian  Church  with 
118,000  members.  The  Dunkers  with  133,000  are  Presbyterian  in  polity.  The 
Adventists  with  114,000  members  and  the  Mennonites  with  79,000  are  Congre- 
gational.   The  same  is  true  of  the  Unitarians  and  the  Universalists. 


88  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

ment.  This  movement,  never  stronger  or  more  influential  than  at 
the  time  the  war  broke  out,  had,  as  we  have  seen,  given  to  Amer- 
ican Christianity  certain  great  gifts  which  have  proved  of  incal- 
culable importance.  It  had  raised  up  a  group  of  men  and  women 
who  had  acquired  the  habit  of  world  vision.  It  had  set  for  mul- 
titudes of  earnest  Christians  a  standard  of  consecration  that  made 
the  giving  of  one's  all  seem  a  matter  of  course.  It  had  enlarged 
the  range  of  the  Church's  ministry  until  it  took  in  the  whole  of  life. 
Religion,  as  modern  missions  conceive  it,  is  a  ministry  to  the  whole 
man — man  as  an  individual  to  be  sure,  but  as  a  member  of  society 
as  well,  citizen  not  of  his  own  nation  only  but  of  the  world.  The 
true  prophets  of  the  League  of  Nations,  the  men  who  have  done 
most  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  ideal  of  a  new  world  order,  are  men 
like  George  Washburn  and  Timothy  Richards  and  George  William 
Knox  who,  in  their  own  persons,  have  crossed  the  barrier  that  di- 
vides race  from  race  and  made  Christianity  an  effective  organ  of 
international  friendship.  Above  all,  the  foreign-missionary  move- 
ment has  carried  into  our  American  Christianity  a  sense  of  un- 
limited possibilities.  It  has  broken  the  shell  of  tradition  and 
habit  and  made  initiative  a  Christian  virtue. 

Foreign  missions  enlarge  the  significance  of  denominationalism 
by  giving  it  a  wider  outlook  and  a  more  catholic  purpose.  We 
have  seen  how  the  denomination  expands  the  horizon  of  the  indi- 
vidual Christian  in  the  local  community  by  making  him  a  member 
of  a  body  which  is  national  in  its  reach.  But  the  denominations 
are  much  more  than  this.  They  are  themselves  missionary  agencies 
committed  to  a  world-wide  programme,  and  through  their  litera- 
ture and  propaganda  they  are  continually  reminding  their  members 
that  no  conception  of  the  Christian  church  is  adequate  which  is 
less  inclusive  than  humanity. 

The  foreign-missionary  movement  not  only  widens  the  horizon 
of  the  American  churches;  it  gives  them  a  new  conception  of  their 
responsibility  at  home.  When  one  is  giving  for  schools  and  hos- 
pitals in  China,  it  cannot  seem  out  of  place  that  the  Church  in 
America  should  be  occupied  with  questions  regarding  education  and 
health,  and  the  discovery  of  the  missionaries  that  Baptists  and 
Methodists  and  Presbyterians  can  work  together  without  loss  of 
efficiency  in  foreign  lands  is  bound  to  exercise  a  reflex  influence 
upon  the  movement  for  unity  at  home. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  89 

The  effect  of  this  enlarging  conception  of  the  task  of  the  home 
Church  appears  in  an  increasing  emphasis  upon  the  social  aspects 
of  the  Church's  missionary  activity.  The  leaders  of  the  new  home 
missions  insist  no  less  strongly  than  their  predecessors  upon  the 
necessity  of  individual  conversion.  But  they  associate  education 
and  social  service  with  evangelism  as  its  necessary  consequence. 
Every  phase  of  the  individual's  activity,  we  now  see,  must  be 
Christianized,  and  for  this  we  must  develop  a  nation-wide  pro- 
gramme that  includes  all  the  varied  groups  in  the  country  with 
their  differing  needs — the  immigrants  clustering  in  our  great  cities, 
the  workers  in  factories  whose  hours  of  labor  cut  them  off  from 
the  ordinary  ministries  of  the  Church,  the  multitudes  of  people  in 
small  villages  and  through  the  open  country',  who  miss  the  inspira- 
tion and  fellowship  enjoyed  by  those  who  live  in  larger  communities, 
and  not  least,  the  great  city  churches,  many  of  which  have  been 
limiting  their  responsibility  to  their  own  parish  instead  of  think- 
ing of  themselves  as  part  of  the  one  great  field  of  national  Chris- 
tianity. 

This  new  conception  of  home  missions  has  found  expression  in 
the  Social  Ideals  of  the  Churches,^  a  statement  adopted  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Federal  Council  in  1908,-  which  sums  up  in  concise  form 
the  main  points  in  a  number  of  similar  pronouncements  by  indi- 
vidual denominations.  That  statement  attempts  to  formulate  in 
a  series  of  brief  propositions  the  Christian  attitude  toward  current 
industrial  questions.  It  deals  with  such  matters  as  wages  and 
hours  of  labor,  the  protection  of  women  and  children  in  industry, 
the  right  of  the  workman  to  proper  sanitary  conditions  of  labor, 
and  to  proper  representation  in  matters  in  dispute  between  himself 
and  his  employer.  Originally  put  forth  by  a  single  denomination, 
it  has  gained  significance  from  its  acceptance  by  the  Federal 
Council,  a  body  including  more  than  thirty  of  the  leading  Protestant 
churches;  and  the  fact  that  it  has  recently  been  attacked  by  cer- 
tain powerful  business  interests  would  seem  to  indicate  that  it  ex- 
presses a  movement  within  the  Church  which  is  suflBciently  pro- 
nounced to  deserve  recognition.^ 

*Cf.  Ward,  "A  Year  Book  of  the  Church  and  Social  Service  in  the  United 
States,"  New  York,  1916,  pp.  198-201. 

^Revised  and  amplified  in  1912.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Council  at  Cleve- 
land in  1916,  four  additional  articles  were  added. 

'  Cf.  Industry,  June  15,  1920.    Cf.  also  p.  24. 


90  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

It  is  true  that  this  movement,  so  far  as  it  affects  the  Church,  is 
still  young.  It  is  an  island,  let  us  say  rather  an  archipelago,  in  the 
sea  of  individualistic  Christianity,  and  yet  the  archipelago  exists. 
To  trace  its  origin  would  require  us  to  recall  the  history  of  the 
Social  Settlement,  to  follow  the  rise  of  the  social-service  movement 
in  the  churches,  to  tell  of  the  work  of  social  prophets  like  Wash- 
ington Gladden  and  Walter  Rauschenbusch,  and  of  living  leaders 
whose  accomplishment  it  is  too  early  to  appraise.  It  would  bring 
before  us  the  series  of  experiments  through  which  church  leaders 
have  been  trying  to  bridge  the  gap  between  the  Church  and  or- 
ganized labor,  such  as  the  institution  of  the  fraternal  delegate,  or 
the  establishment  of  the  open  forum.  As  a  result  of  these  and 
other  influences  the  attention  of  the  churches  is  being  directed  to 
their  social  responsibilities,  and  a  new  social  conscience  is  being 
developed. 

A  fourth  factor  to  be  considered  is  the  movement  toward  Chris- 
tian unity .^  The  interest  of  the  Church  in  unity  appears  not 
only  in  the  more  ambitious  attempts  to  secure  the  organic  union 
of  Christendom,  but  in  a  wide  variety  of  co-operative  movements 
which  bring  Christians  of  different  denominations  together  for  prac- 
tical purposes.  While  advocates  of  the  former  method  have  been 
content  to  focus  their  attention  on  the  longer  future  and  have  dis- 
couraged efforts  at  early  action  as  premature,  those  who  have 
been  engaged  in  the  more  immediate  tasks,  feeling  the  urgency 
of  the  situation,  have  preached  co-operation  as  a  present  duty  to 
constantly  increasing  audiences.  Acting  through  the  Federal 
Council,  they  have  organized  commissions  on  such  subjects  as  evan- 
gelism, social  service,  international  justice  and  goodwill  and  Chris- 
tian education.  They  have  fostered  the  creation  of  local  fed- 
erations in  cities  and  states.  This  movement  has  been  paralleled 
or  preceded  by  similar  movements  on  the  part  of  the  responsible 
administrative  agencies  of  the  larger  Christian  communions  which 
have  come  together  in  such  effective  bodies  as  the  Foreign  Missions 
Conference,  the  Home  Missions  Council,  the  Council  of  Church 
Boards,  and  the  International  Sunday  School  Council.  Through 
these  agencies  relationships  had  already  been  established  between 
the  different  denominations  which  had  created  a  common  senti- 
'  Cf.  Chapters  X  and  XIII. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  FOUND  THE  CHURCH  91 

ment  and  understanding  and  made  it  possible  for  them  to  work 
together  when  the  war  came. 

More  prominent  in  the  public  eye,  but  needing  special  mention 
because  representing  a  different  principle,  are  the  great  voluntary 
societies  of  Protestantism,  of  which  the  most  important  are  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian Association.  The  story  of  the  rise  and  growth  and  service 
of  these  powerful  religious  agencies  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  instructive  of  all  the  chapters  of  American  church  history,  and 
some  day  will  receive  the  detailed  and  discriminating  attention 
which  it  deserves.  In  these  bodies  the  Church  possesses  indispensa- 
ble auxiliaries  with  the  power  to  function  quickly  and  effectively 
in  crises  such  as  war.  It  is  not  strange  that  the  Associations  should 
have  taken  the  leadership  when  the  World  W\ar  came  and  should 
have  filled  the  place  in  the  public  eye  to  which  their  great  services 
justly  entitled  them. 

One  more  asset  needs  to  be  mentioned,  and  that  is  the  demo- 
cratic spirit  itself.  We  have  seen  the  weakness  of  this  spirit,  its 
tendency  to  isolation  and  narrowness.  We  must  not  overlook  its 
strength.  It  expresses  the  sense  of  individual  responsibility  which 
is  so  characteristic  a  feature  of  our  American  life — the  willingness 
of  the  individual  to  assume  his  share  and  bear  his  part  and  work 
out  in  forms  that  seem  congenial  to  himself  the  type  of  life  he 
wishes  to  live.  It  has  its  unlovely  features,  for  there  are  few  in- 
dividuals who  have  the  training  and  the  culture  to  order  their 
own  lives  to  the  best  advantage.  But  culture  may  be  acquired  if 
there  is  individual  initiative  and  responsibility,  whereas  where  these 
are  lacking  true  democracy  is  impossible.  The  democratic  spirit 
is  a  spirit  of  life  and  energy.  It  is  active,  responsible,  unafraid, 
and  this  spirit,  present  in  the  republic  from  the  first,  has  reflected 
itself  in  the  character  of  the  American  Church. 

Such  was  the  Church  upon  which  the  war  broke,  to  test  its 
powers  and  to  reveal  it  to  itself. 


CHAPTER  VI 

WHAT   THE    CHURCH    LEARNED   IN   THE  "WAR 

1.    Differing  Estimates  of  the  War  Work  of  the  Church 

In  a  frequently  quoted  article  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  an 
American  clergyman  writes  thus  of  the  temper  of  the  Church  dur- 
ing the  months  that  preceded  our  entry  into  the  World  War: 
"Thoughtful  men  and  women  are  asking  what  became  of  the  spir- 
itual leadership  of  America  during  those  thirty-two  months  when 
Europe  and  parts  of  Asia  were  passing  through  Gehenna.  What 
prelate  or  bishop  or  ecclesiastical  dignitary  essayed  the  work  of 
spiritual  interpretation?  What  convocation  or  conference  or  as- 
sembly spoke  so  convincingly  that  the  national  conscience  must 
perforce  listen?  What  book  from  a  clerical  study  gave  the  sancti- 
ties of  humanity  and  the  sanctions  of  law  the  foremost  place  in 
current  thought?  What  voice  from  altar  or  pulpit  liberated  a  pas- 
sion of  righteous  indignation  and  set  the  continent  aflame  with 
holy  wrath?"! 

The  sin  of  which  Dr.  Odell  calls  his  brother  clergymen  to 
repent  is  that  they  did  not  together  and  at  once  arouse  the  nation 
to  the  duty  of  immediate  participation  in  the  World  War.  Other 
critics  of  the  Church  have  condemned  it  for  exactly  the  opposite 
reason.  In  their  view  the  clergy  were  blameworthy  not  because 
they  were  slow  in  throwing  themselves  into  the  war,  but  because 
they  had  not  made  the  war  impossible;  or,  if  that  could  not  be, 
did  not  refuse  to  take  any  part  in  it.^ 

These  criticisms  reflect  the  divided  sentiment  in  the  nation 
when  the  war  broke  out.  To  many  Americans — no  doubt  the 
large  majority — the  war  presented  itself  as  a  simple  issue  of  right 
and  wrong.     The  peace  of  the  world  had  been  suddenly  interrupted 

'Joseph  H.  Odell,  "Peter  Sat  by  the  Fire  Warming  Himself,"  Atlantic 
Monthly,  February,  1918,  pp.  145  sq. 

^Cf.  the  thoughtful  editorial  in  the  Churchman,  "War  is  Sin,"  November 
12,  1921. 

92 


I 
WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  93 

by  a  marauding  nation,  and  it  was  the  plain  duty  of  all  law- 
abiding  peoples  to  band  themselves  together  to  put  down  the  of- 
fender. For  a  considerable  number  of  thoughtful  persons,  however, 
the  matter  was  not  so  simple.  To  them  war  itself  seemed  the  evil  of 
evils,  the  inevitable  outcome  of  an  unchristian  social  order  for 
which  we  were  all  alike — even  if  not  all  in  equal  degree — to  blame. 
Germany  might  have  applied  the  torch,  but  others  had  helped  to 
lay  the  fagots.  In  their  thought,  the  one  hope  for  tiie  future  of 
mankind  was  to  find  some  nation  which  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  war  in  any  form. 

We  see  to-day  the  limitations  of  both  points  of  view.  We 
recognize  that  when  the  war  came  it  was  too  late  to  stay  the  de- 
structive forces  it  had  set  in  motion,  and  that  all  that  could  be  done 
was  to  try  to  mitigate  the  evil,  so  far  as  might  be  possible.  But 
we  see  also  that  to  multitudes  who  had  been  living  little  and  selfish 
lives,  the  war  was  a  reminder  of  a  larger  world,  a  call  to  self- 
forgetful  service.  Who  can  doubt  that  to  thousands  of  our 
young  men  the  call  to  service  was  in  a  true  sense  the  call  of 
religion? 

Yet  we  know  now  how  much  more  complicated  were  the  moral 
issues  than  we  at  first  supposed.  One  need  not  minimize  Ger- 
many's guilt  in  the  war  or  question  the  righteousness  of  the  cause 
for  which  the  Allies  fought  in  order  to  show  in  how  many  ways 
on  both  sides  evil  was  intermingled  with  good.  The  intolerance 
that  cloaked  itself  as  patriotism;  the  willingness — when  two  alterna- 
tives were  possible — to  believe  evil  rather  than  good ;  the  systematic 
suppression  and  perversion  of  the  truth  when  it  bore  against  our 
purposes  instead  of  for  them;  the  loss  of  faith  in  the  capacity  for 
good  in  multitudes  of  men;  the  forgetfulness  of  the  fact  that  in  the 
eyes  of  God  all  alike  are  sinners,  offenders  against  His  law  and  in 
need  of  His  forgiveness:  ^  all  this  we  can  perceive  more  clearly 
now  than  five  years  ago  when  action  jostled  thought  aside  and  rea- 
son often  abdicated  in  favor  of  passion.  It  will  not  seem  strange 
if  in  such  a  situation  "^he  Church  was  slow  to  express  a  final  judg- 
ment, and  required  time  to  find  its  way  to  the  truth.  There  was  no 
agreement  even  as  to  the  facts;  how  much  less  as  to  their  signifi- 
cance.   Where  the  wisest  individuals  differ  it  is  only  natural  that 

*Cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  "The  Place  of  Repentance  in  a  Nation  at  War," 
North  American  Student,  May,  1918. 


94  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

there  should  be  no  unified  policy  in  the  institution  to  which  they 
belong.  Before  censuring  the  churches  for  what  they  failed  to  do, 
it  is  only  fair  to  give  them  credit  for  what  they  did  do. 

2.    Success  of  the  Church  in  Caring  for  the  Soldiers  and  Keeping 
up  the  Morale  of  the  Nation 

Three  plain  duties  lay  before  the  Church  when  the  war  broke 
out.  It  was  its  duty,  first,  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  needs  of 
its  own  sons  and  keep  alive  their  faith  in  God  and  the  higher  life; 
it  was  its  duty,  secondly,  to  reinforce  the  morale  of  the  nation  and 
to  inspire  men  and  women  to  sacrifice  by  reminding  them  of  the 
ideals  for  which  the  war  was  fought;  it  was  its  duty,  finally,  in 
time  of  strain  and  misunderstanding,  to  keep  alive  the  international 
spirit,  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  and  goodwill,  and  in  time  of  war 
to  prepare  the  world  for  the  healing  tasks  of  peace.  By  its  success 
or  failure  in  these  respects,  its  claim  to  have  rendered  faithful  serv- 
ice must  be  judged. 

As  to  the  first  two  there  can  be  no  question.  Both  in  their 
ministry  to  the  troops  who  were  fighting  and  to  the  people  who 
stayed  at  home,  the  churches  performed  a  service  of  incalculable 
value — a  service  that  will  be  rated  most  highly  by  those  who  knew 
it  best.^ 

At  the  outset,  the  Church  was  fortunate  in  having  as  auxiliaries 
the  two  Christian  Associations,  undenominational  agencies  defi- 
nitely Christian  in  character,  of  large  resources,  wide  experience, 
and  exceptional  initiative.  Both  had  already  had  training  in  work 
in  other  countries.  Both  had  worked  with  our  army  on  the  Mexican 
border,  and  in  addition  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  had 
had  three  years'  experience  in  caring  for  the  prisoners  of  war  both 
of  our  Allies  and  of  the  countries  against  which  we  were  presently 
to  fight.  In  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  therefore,  the 
Christian  forces  of  America  possessed  the  machinery  through  which 
they  could  act  quickly  and  effectively  in  the  service  of  our  army, 
called  into  existence  almost  over-night.    What  was  done  through 

*  A  convenient  summary  of  the  war  work  of  the  churches  is  given  in 
"War-Time  Agencies  of  the  Churches,"  New  York,  1919.  A  fuller  account  may 
be  found  in  the  publications  of  the  General  War-Time  Commission,  the  Chris- 
tian Associations,  and  the  various  denominational  War  Commissions.  Cf. 
also  Williams,  "American  Catholics  in  the  War,"  New  York,  1921. 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  95 

this  agency  both  here  and  across  the  sea  is  known  in  every  home 
in  America.^  It  is  as  needless  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  add 
anything  to  the  well-deserved  tribute  recently  publicly  paid  to 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  by  an  authoritative  wit- 
ness, General  Pershing.^ 

But  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was  only  one  of  a 
number  of  agencies  through  which  the  Church  discharged  its  min- 
istry to  the  army.  What  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
did  for  the  men,  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  did  for 
the  women.  For  this  was  a  war,  we  must  never  forget,  in  which 
women  did  their  part  side  by  side  with  men  in  army  and  navy 
alike.  The  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  looked  after  the 
women  relatives  of  our  soldiers  and  sailors,  cared  for  women  serv- 
ing in  various  capacities  with  our  troops,  for  trained  nurses,  signal- 
corps  operators,  secretaries,  laundresses,  etc.,  and  for  the  industrial 
army  of  women  in  our  own  country  and  in  France  who  served 
behind  the  lines.^ 

Less  prominently  before  the  public  eye,  but  of  increasing  im- 
portance with  every  passing  month,  was  the  work  of  the  army 
and  navy  chaplains.*  The  camp  pastors  or  voluntary  chaplains, 
furnished  by  the  War  Commissions  of  the  different  churches,  ren- 
dered a  useful  service  during  the  earlier  months  of  the  war,  when 
the  regular  chaplains  were  still  few.'^  The  churches  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  camps  opened  their  rooms  for  recreation  and  rest  and 
offered  the  recruits  from  distant  sections  of  the  country  a  place 

*Cf.  Summary  of  the  World  War  Work  of  the  American  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
printed  for  private  distribution,  New  York,  1920;  Katharine  Mayo,  "That 
Damn  'Y',"  1920. 

^"In  the  field  of  education,  athletics,  and  recreation  after  the  armistice,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  took  the  lead,  without  any  sort  of  ques- 
tion, and  as  a  matter  of  fact  about  nine-tenths  of  the  welfare  work  that  was 
carried  on  in  the  A.  E.  F.  was  carried  on  under  the  direction  and  guidance  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association."— "General  Pershing  and  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,"  p.  7. 

'  Cf .  Report  of  the  National  War  Work  Council  of  the  Young  Women's 
Christian  Associations  of  America,  New  York,  1919. 

*No  complete  account  of  the  work  of  the  chaplains  has  yet  been  printed. 
Extracts  from  the  report  of  the  Chief  of  Chaplains  are  given  in  the  Report 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,  Washington,  1921. 

°  For  an  account  of  their  work  cf .  the  reports  of  the  various  War  Commis- 
sions, fuller  reference  to  which  may  be  found  in  the  bibliography  included  in 
"War-Time  Agencies  of  the  Churches." 


96  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

where  they  could  feel  at  home.^  In  other  national  organizations, 
such  as  the  Red  Cross,  the  Library  Association,  the  War  Camp 
Community  Service,  etc.,  worked  representatives  of  the  churches, 
helping  to  create  the  environment  that  would  sustain  the  men's 
morale  and  uphold  their  ideals.  Probably  since  the  world  began, 
there  has  never  been  an  army  upon  whose  morale  such  solicitous 
care  was  expended. 

Scarcely  less  notable  than  the  contribution  of  the  Church  to 
the  welfare  of  the  army  was  its  service  in  sustaining  the  morale 
of  the  nation.  To  all  the  various  forms  of  national  service  which 
contributed  so  largely  to  the  winning  of  the  war — the  work  of  the 
Red  Cross,  Food  Control,  Liberty  Loans,  and  the  like— the  churches 
were  generous  contributors.  When  Mr.  Hoover  wished  to  reach 
every  home  in  America  with  his  appeal  for  co-operative  action,  he 
found  an  invaluable  ally  in  the  churches,  for  the  churches  have  their 
representatives  in  every  community  and  can  touch,  at  will,  every 
section  of  the  people. 

The  service  of  the  churches  was  the  more  creditable  because  of 
the  modest  and  self-effacing  way  in  which  it  was  rendered.  In  all 
the  organizations  which  have  been  named,  ministers  worked  as  vol- 
unteers. Especially  significant  was  the  work  done  by  ministers 
as  camp  directors  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretaries.  Cheerfully  ac- 
cepting the  limitations  which  the  government  regulations  put  upon 
their  freedom,"  they  took  the  positions  offered  to  them  by  the  As- 
sociation and  made  up  in  the  spirit  of  their  service  what  it  lacked 
in  formal  and  official  character.  Indeed,  one  of  the  chief  reasons 
why  the  churches  received  so  little  credit  for  the  work  done  in  the 
war  was  that  so  much  of  their  work  was  done  in  co-operation  with 
others.    They  were  content  to  work  where  work  seemed  needed, 

*  No  complete  record  exists  of  the  work  which  was  done  by  these  churches. 
Taken  together  it  would  make  an  impressive  story.  The  Catholic  War  Council 
has  undertaken  to  compile  a  complete  record  of  what  was  done  in  this  way  by 
the  different  Roman  Catholic  parishes.  Unfortunately  the  limitation  of  funds 
at  the  disposal  of  the  General  War-Time  Commission  made  impossible  any 
such  record  of  the  work  of  the  Protestant  churches. 

^E.g.,  in  such  matters  as  administering  the  sacraments.  According  to  the 
theory  of  the  government  the  work  that  was  done  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  was 
primarily  welfare  work,  and  while  no  objection  was  made  to  the  secretaries 
carrying  on  religious  services,  they  were  supposed  to  do  so  as  laymen,  and 
everything  of  a  denominational  or  indeed  of  a  formal  ecclesiastical  character 
was  strictly  excluded. 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  97 

supplying  the  personnel  through  which  other  organizations  worked 
as  well  as  rendering  the  distinctive  service  which  experience  showed 
that  they  alone  could  give. 

3.    Failure  of  the  Church  Adequately  to  Uphold  the  Ideal  of  Inter- 
national Brotherhood  and  the  Reasons  for  It 

When  we  turn  to  the  third  of  the  great  tasks  of  the  Church  in 
the  war — that  of  keeping  alive  the  spirit  of  international  brother- 
hood— the  record  is  less  clear.  There  were  individuals  who  were 
able  in  singular  degree  to  combine  loyalty  to  their  country's  cause 
with  the  larger  outlook.  But  for  many  ministers  the  identification 
of  the  national  cause  with  that  of  humanity  was  so  complete  that 
they  found  it  hard  to  pass  discriminating  judgments.  The  steady 
stream  of  atrocity  stories,  the  suppression  of  all  evidences  of  better 
feeling  on  the  part  of  any  section  of  the  German  people,  the  dis- 
heartening effects  of  the  pronunciamento  of  the  German  intellec- 
tuals, the  honest  and  sincere  revulsion  of  feeling  against  a  nation  the 
action  of  whose  leaders  had  plunged  mankind  into  these  unspeak- 
able horrors — all  worked  to  make  righteous  anger  seem  a  Christian 
duty.  The  tone  adopted  by  some  pacificists  in  regard  to  the  issues 
at  stake  did  not  tend  to  make  the  cause  of  internationalism  any 
more  attractive.  The  fact  remains  that  in  the  heat  of  the  struggle 
the  judgment  of  many  a  minister  did  not  conspicuously  rise  above 
that  of  the  average  citizen.  The  universal  note,  so  signally  sounded 
by  Israel's  prophets  in  times  of  similar  crisis,  was  less  in  evidence 
than  we  could  have  desired. 

Yet,  thank  God,  the  note  of  brotherhood  was  never  entirely 
absent.  When  the  Church  spoke  ofiicially,  its  utterances  were  not 
lacking  in  Christian  character.  Of  many  illustrations  that  might 
be  given,  the  declaration  of  principles  adopted  by  the  Federal 
Council  at  the  time  war  broke  out  may  be  taken  as  a  represen- 
tative example.^ 

This  declaration  reads  as  follows: 

After  long  patience,  and  with  a  solemn  sense  of  responsibility,  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  has  been  forced  to  recognize  that  a  state  of  war 
exists  between  this  country  and  Germany,  and  the  President  has  called  upon 

'  Cf.  "The  Churches  of  Christ  in  Time  of  War,"  New  York,  1917,  pp.  12^ 
133. 


98  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

all  the  people  for  their  loyal  support  and  their  whole-hearted  allegiance.  As 
American  citizens,  members  of  Christian  churches  gathered  in  Federal  Council, 
we  are  here  to  pledge  both  support  and  allegiance  in  unstinted  measure. 

We  are  Christians  as  well  as  citizens.  Upon  us,  therefore,  rests  a  double 
responsibility.  We  owe  it  to  our  country  to  maintain  intact  and  to  transmit 
unimpaired  to  our  descendants  our  heritage  of  freedom  and  democracy.  Above 
and  beyond  this,  we  must  be  loyal  to  our  divine  Lord,  who  gave  His  life  that 
the  world  might  be  redeemed,  and  whose  loving  purpose  embraces  every  man 
and  every  nation. 

As  citizens  of  a  peace-loving  nation,  we  abhor  war.  We  have  long  striven 
to  secure  the  judicial  settlement  of  all  international  disputes.  But  since,  in 
spite  of  every  effort,  war  has  come,  we  are  grateful  that  the  ends  to  which 
we  are  committed  are  such  as  we  can  approve.  To  vindicate  the  principles  of 
righteousness  and  the  inviolability  of  faith  as  between  nation  and  nation;  to 
safeguard  the  right  of  all  the  peoples,  great  and  small  alike,  to  live  their  life  in 
freedom  and  peace;  to  resist  and  overcome  the  forces  that  would  prevent  the 
union  of  the  nations  in  a  commonwealth  of  free  peoples  conscious  of  unity  in 
the  pursuit  of  ideal  ends — these  are  aims  for  which  every  one  of  us  may  lay 
down  our  all,  even  life  itself. 

We  enter  the  war  without  haste  or  passion,  not  for  private  or  national  gain, 
with  no  hatred  or  bitterness  against  those  with  whom  we  contend. 

No  man  can  foresee  the  issue  of  the  struggle.  It  will  call  for  all  the 
strength  and  heroism  of  which  the  nation  is  capable.  What  now  is  the  mission 
of  the  Church  in  this  hour  of  crisis  and  danger?  It  is  to  bring  all  that  is  done 
or  planned  in  the  nation's  name  to  the  test  of  the  mind  of  Christ. 

That  mind  upon  one  point  we  do  not  all  interpret  alike.  With  sincere 
conviction  some  of  us  believe  that  it  is  forbidden  the  disciples  of  Christ  to 
engage  in  war  under  any  circumstances.  Most  of  us  believe  that  the  love 
of  all  men  which  Christ  enjoins  demands  that  we  defend  with  all  the  power 
given  us  the  sacred  rights  of  humanity.  But  we  are  all  at  one  in  loyalty  to 
our  country,  and  in  steadfast  and  whole-hearted  devotion  to  her  service. 

As  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  the  hour  lays  upon  us  special  duties: 

To  purge  our  own  hearts  clean  of  arrogance  and  of  selfishness; 

To  steady  and  inspire  the  nation; 

To  keep  ever  before  the  eyes  of  ourselves  and  of  our  allies  the  ends  for 
which  we  fight; 

To  hold  our  own  nation  true  to  its  professed  aims  of  justice,  liberty,  and 
brotherhood ; 

To  testify  to  our  fellow-Christians  in  every  land,  most  of  all  to  those  from 
whom  for  the  time  we  are  estranged,  our  consciousness  of  unbroken  unity  in 
Christ; 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  99 

To  unite  in  the  fellowship  of  service  multitudes  who  love  their  enemies 
and  are  ready  to  join  with  them  in  rebuilding  the  waste  places  as  soon  as 
peace  shall  come; 

To  be  diligent  in  works  of  relief  and  mercy,  not  forgetting  those  ministries 
to  the  spirit  to  which  as  Christians  we  are  especially  committed; 

To  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  prayer,  that  in  these  times  of  strain  and  sorrow 
men  may  be  sustained  by  the  consciousness  of  the  presence  and  power  of  God ; 

To  hearten  those  who  go  to  the  front,  and  to  comfort  their  loved  ones 
at  home; 

To  care  for  the  welfare  of  our  young  men  in  the  army  and  navy,  that  they 
may  be  fortified  in  character  and  made  strong  to  resist  temptation; 

To  be  vigilant  against  every  attempt  to  arouse  the  spirit  of  vengeance  and 
unjust  suspicion  toward  those  of  foreign  birth  or  sympathies; 

To  protect  the  rights  of  conscience  against  every  attempt  to  invade  them; 

To  maintain  our  Christian  institutions  and  activities  unimpaired,  the  ob- 
servance of  the  Lord's  Day  and  the  study  of  tLe  Holy  Scriptures,  that  the  soul 
of  our  nation  may  be  nourished  and  renewed  through  the  worship  and  service 
of  Almighty  God; 

To  guard  the  gains  of  education,  and  of  social  progress  and  economic  free- 
dom, won  at  so  great  a  cost,  and  to  make  full  use  of  the  occasion  to  set  them 
still  further  forward,  even  by  and  through  the  war; 

To  keep  the  open  mind  and  the  forward  look,  that  the  lessons  learned  in 
war  may  not  be  forgotten  when  comes  that  just  and  sacred  peace  for  which 
we  pray; 

Above  all,  to  call  men  everywhere  to  new  obedience  to  the  will  of  our 
Father  God,  who  in  Christ  has  given  Himself  in  supreme  self-sacrifice  for  the 
redemption  of  the  world,  and  who  invites  us  to  share  with  Him  His  ministry 
of  reconciliation. 

To  such  service  we  would  summon  our  fellow-Christians  of  ever>'  name. 
In  this  spirit  we  would  dedicate  ourselves  and  all  that  we  have  to  the  nation's 
cause.  With  this  hope  we  would  join  hands  with  all  men  of  goodwill  of  every 
land  and  race,  to  rebuild  on  this  war-ridden  and  desolated  earth  the  common- 
wealth of  mankind,  and  to  make  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Christ. 

This  utterance  gains  significance  from  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  put  forth.  It  was  not  the  expression  of  a  small  or 
uninfiuential  group,  but  of  the  most  representative  body  of  Amer- 
ican Christians  which  up  to  that  time  had  ever  assembled.  It  was 
prepared  with  great  care  by  a  large  and  carefully  selected  com- 
mittee which  subjected  every  line  to  repeated  and  rigorous  criti- 


100  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

cism.  It  expressed  to  an  extent  which  is  not  often  true  of  such 
documents  the  mature  conviction  of  the  men  and  women  best  able 
to  speak  for  the  Church  as  a  whole.^ 

*  Four  and  a  half  years  after  the  utterance  which  we  have  just  quoted,  a 
delegation  of  the  same  Council  met  again  in  Washington.  The  war  had  come 
and  gone,  and  in  November  of  1921  representatives  of  the  allied  powers  had 
come  to  the  national  capital  at  President  Harding's  invitation  to  take  part  in 
a  conference  on  disarmament.  On  Friday,  the  eleventh,  the  third  anniversary 
of  Armistice  Day,  it  was  proposed  to  bury  in  the  National  Cemetery  at 
Arlington,  with  all  the  honors  of  a  grateful  nation,  an  unknown  and  unidenti- 
fied soldier,  symbol  and  representative  of  the  nameless  dead  who  had  given 
their  lives  for  our  country.  On  the  Thursday  preceding,  the  body  lay  in 
state  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol  and  delegations  representing  different  in- 
terests were  permitted  to  enter  at  appointed  times  to  bring  their  tributes  to 
the  honored  dead.  The  first  of  these  delegations  represented  the  Federal 
Council  of  the  Churches.  In  the  early  morning  of  a  gray  November  day  they 
gathered  on  the  east  steps  of  the  Capitol,  and  just  before  eight  o'clock  struck, 
a  moment  or  two  before  the  doors  were  opened  to  the  general  public,  were 
admitted  to  the  rotunda  where  they  placed  their  tribute,  a  white  cross  over 
the  Stars  and  Stripes,  in  the  place  which  had  been  prepared  for  it.  After  a 
brief  prayer  by  Bishop  McDowell,  Chairman  of  the  Washington  Committee  on 
Army  and  Navy  Chaplains,  in  which  he  expressed  the  nation's  gratitude  to 
God  for  the  valor  of  the  men  who  had  given  their  lives  for  its  defence  and 
invoked  His  blessing  upon  the  homes  from  which  they  came,  the  Secretary  of 
the  General  War-Time  Commission,  on  behalf  of  the  churches  represented  in 
the  Federal  Council,  voiced  their  consciousness  of  the  indissoluble  bond 
which  unites  men  of  goodwill  of  every  land  and  race,  their  hope  that  in  work 
for  the  common  weal  those  who  were  once  enemies  might  find  reconciliation 
and  peace,  and  their  unconquerable  faith  in  the  possibility  of  a  warless  world. 
A  similar  note  is  struck  in  an  open  letter  sent  out  a  few  days  earlier  by  the 
heads  of  twenty-four  of  the  largest  Protestant  communions,  acting  in  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Federal  Council.  It  is  addressed  to  all  lovers  of  humanity,  and 
voices  the  deep  conviction  of  the  churches  in  an  impressive  statement  from 
which  we  take  the  following  paragraphs: 

"The  Conference  is  to  deal  with  difficult  and  complex  problems  of  politics 
and  economics.  But  underlying  them  all  are  eternal  moral  principles  of  inter- 
national life.  We  firmly  believe  that  nations  no  less  than  individuals  are  sub- 
ject to  God's  immutable  moral  laws;  that  only  through  just  dealing  and  un- 
selfish service  can  people  achieve  true  welfare,  greatness,  and  honor;  that  for 
nations  as  well  as  individuals,  goodwill  and  mutual  helpfulness  are  the  true 
way  of  life.  No  considerations  of  political  expediency  or  of  selfish  economic 
advantage  can  supersede  these  basic  principles  without  bringing  ultimate  dis- 
aster and  ruin  in  their  train. 

"More  than  all  else,  there  is  need  for  a  new  spirit  in  our  international  life. 
Penitence  there  must  be  first  of  all,  for  our  own  past  sin  in  thinking  too 
much  of  our  own  rights  and  others'  duties,  too  little  of  our  own  duties  and 
others'  rights.  We  must  learn  to  think  of  our  nation  not  as  an  end  in  itself, 
but  as  a  member  of  a  family  of  nations  under  a  common  Father.  All  un- 
neighborly  attitudes  toward  other  peoples,  all  prejudice  against  other  races, 
must  be  put  away.    Our  hearts  must  be  open  to  the  incoming  of  the  divine 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  101 

4.     What  the  War  Taught  the  Church  Concerning  the  Need  of 
Effective  Agencies  of  Unity 

So  far  we  have  been  considering  what  the  Church  did  for  the 
nation.  It  remains  to  point  out  what  was  the  reflex  influence 
upon  the  Church.  For  one  thing  the  war  revealed  to  American 
Protestantism  its  essential  unity.  We  have  already  seen  how 
much  the  diff"erent  denominations  had  in  common,  how  far  their 
past  history  and  similar  experiences  had  already  welded  them  into 
a  spiritual  unity.  But  it  remained  for  the  war  to  bring  this  fact 
home  to  the  consciousness  of  American  Christians.  Each  denomina- 
tion met  the  crisis  in  its  own  way.  Each  reacted  after  its  own 
fashion.  Yet  the  reaction  was  surprisingly  similar,  and  the  dif- 
ferent agencies  which  the  war  called  into  existence  found  little  dif- 
ficulty in  working  together.^ 

But  while  the  war  disclosed  to  the  churches  their  essential  imity, 
it  showed  them  at  the  same  time  that  they  lacked  agencies  through 
which  that  unity  could  express  itself  effectively  in  action.  Both  in 
the  larger  matters  which  required  interdenominational  co-operation 
and  in  the  narrower  sphere  where  each  denomination  was  able  to  act 
for  itself,  the  needed  machinery  had  to  be  improvised  almost  over- 
night. The  Presbyterians,  the  Baptists,  and  the  Congregationalists, 
whose  annual  meetings  took  place  soon  after  the  war  broke  out, 
created  War  Commissions  to  act  for  them  in  the  crisis.  Other  de- 
nominations which  met  less  frequently  relied  upon  their  existing 
agencies  to  tide  them  over  the  emergency.  In  the  Episcopal  Church, 
Bishop  Lawrence  was  authorized  by  the  presiding  bishop,  acting 

Spirit  of  life  which  alone  can  bring  lasting  peace  to  a  world  torn  by  war  and 
staggering  under  the  colossal  burden  of  unnecessary  armaments." 

^Cf.  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Speer,  in  "Christian  Unity:  Its  Principles  and 
Possibilities,"  p.  26. 

"One  of  the  most  striking  things  about  these  denominational  commissions 
was  that  their  organization,  point  of  view,  and  lines  of  action  bore  testimony 
to  the  underlying  community  of  view  and  feeling  in  the  American  churches. 
No  other  institutions  in  America  acted  with  more  identity  of  mind  and  spirit. 
They  set  themselves  to  almost  identical  forms  of  service.  There  were  many 
obvious  differences,  but  they  were  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  signifi- 
cant evidence  of  the  substantial  unity  of  mind  and  temper  characteristic  of 
our  churches.  There  were  a  few  which  believed  that  they  were  particularistic 
and  different,  but  the  interesting  fact,  almost  the  amusing  fact,  was  the  simi- 
larity of  spirit  and  ideal.  Actions  spoke  louder  than  words.  Our  American 
churches  revealed  their  unity  of  character  as  a  present  reality." 


102  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

upon  his  own  authority,  to  create  a  War  Commission,  relying 
upon  the  General  Convention  to  ratify  what  had  been  done.  The 
Southern  Baptists  made  their  Board  of  Home  Missions  the  official 
agency  of  their  war  work,  and  the  same  was  true  at  first  of  the 
Methodists.  The  Lutherans,  the  most  divided  of  the  Protestant 
groups,  found  in  the  war  a  welcome  stimulus  to  denominational 
unity.  Waiving  all  minor  differences,  they  recognized  their  com- 
mon interest  in  effective  war  service  and  created  a  National  Lu- 
theran Commission  for  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Welfare,  through  which 
they  could  all  function  together.^ 

What  was  true  in  the  field  of  the  denomination  as  a  whole  was 
true  also  of  the  local  community.  Individual  churches  were  exceed- 
ingly active.  The  War  Camp  Community  Service  was  represented 
by  earnest  and  enthusiastic  agents.  In  a  few  communities  the  exist- 
ing federation  of  churches  served  as  a  unifying  agency.  But  the 
churches  as  a  whole  had  no  single  central  organization  through  which 
they  could  promptly  unify  their  local  service  in  time  of  war. 

In  spite  of  all  obstacles,  in  one  way  or  another,  the  needed  ma- 
chinery was  created  and  the  churches  addressed  themselves  to  the 
tasks  which  lay  at  hand.  There  were  chaplains  to  be  provided  for 
the  government,  and  furnished  with  the  equipment  they  needed; 
there  were  voluntary  workers  to  be  supplied  in  the  camps.  Liter- 
ature was  needed  for  the  soldiers.  The  churches  near  the  camps 
must  be  strengthened  and  supplied  with  workers.  In  some  places 
there  were  buildings  to  be  erected  or  enlarged.  For  these  funds 
were  required  and  workers,  and  soon  in  all  the  larger  denominations 
a  stream  of  activity  was  under  way.^ 

If  it  had  only  been  one  stream!  But  unfortunately  there  were 
more  than  thirty,  each  pouring  its  supplies  of  men,  money,  and 
literature  into  the  camps.  It  was  clear  that  such  a  situation  could 
not  continue  indefinitely.  The  only  access  to  the  camps  was  through 
the  government.  But  the  government  recognized  three  great  bodies 
of  religious  people,  and  only  three— the  Protestants,  the  Roman 
Catholics,  and  the  Jews.  If,  then,  the  Protestants  were  to  work 
effectively,  they  must  find  some  way  of  working  together. 

^  Cf.  "War-Time  Agencies  of  the  Churches,"  pp.  53  sq. 
^For  information  in  detail  cf.  the  reports  of  the  various  denominations 
in  "War-Time  Agencies  of  the  Churches." 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  103 

5.     The  Organization  and  Work  of  the  General  War-Time  Commis- 
sion— Principles  Controlling  the  Work  of  the  Commission 

This  necessity  led  to  the  appointment  of  the  General  War-Time 
Commission  of  the  Churches,  the  agency  through  which  united 
Protestantism  functioned  during  the  war.  The  importance  of  this 
commission  and  its  significance  for  the  history  of  the  co-operative 
movement  in  Protestantism  justify  a  brief  account  of  its  origin  and 
activities  and  of  the  principles  on  which  it  operated.^ 

The  General  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches  was  a 
body  of  one  hundred  persons  chosen  from  the  different  churches  and 
other  religious  agencies  which  were  dealing  in  direct  and  responsible 
ways  with  the  new  problems  which  the  war  had  raised. 

It  had  its  inception  at  a  meeting  of  the  Federal  Council  held  at 
Washington  on  May  8  and  9,  1917.  At  this  meeting,  called  two 
weeks  after  the  United  States  entered  the  war,  there  were  in  attend- 
ance, besides  the  delegates  of  the  Federal  Council,  representatives 
of  the  Home  Missions  Council,  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of 
North  America,  the  Federation  of  Woman's  Boards  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions of  North  America,  the  Council  of  Women  for  Home  Mis- 
sions, the  International  Committee  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations,  the  National  Board  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Associations,  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  the  World  Alliance 
for  International  Friendship  through  the  Churches.  In  all,  no 
less  than  thirty-five  different  bodies  were  represented.  The  ses- 
sions of  the  meeting  were  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  a  message 
to  the  churches  and  the  discussion  of  methods  by  which  the  churches 
might  meet  the  duties  of  the  hour  in  the  spirit  of  the  message.^ 

The  discussion  at  the  meeting  developed  the  fact  that  besides 
the  temporary  committees  for  which  provision  was  made,  some 
permanent  representative  national  body  would  be  needed  to  deal 
with  the  new  problems  created  by  the  war,  and  the  Administrative 

^Cf.  General  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches:  Its  Origin  and  Its 
Purpose,  September,  1917;  Report  of  the  General  War-Time  Commission  of 
the  Churches,  December,  1917;  The  Record  of  a  Year:  Progress  of  the  Work 
of  the  General  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches,  1917-1918;  Report  of 
the  General  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches,  December,  1918;  The 
Service  of  the  General  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches,  May,  1919. 

»Cf.  pp.  97-99. 


104  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Committee  was  authorized  to  bring  this  about.  Acting  under  this 
authority,  Dr.  North,  the  President  of  the  Council,  invited  a  care- 
fully selected  group  of  persons  from  the  different  religious  bodies 
whose  co-operation  was  essential  to  serve  as  members  of  a  Com- 
mission of  One  Hundred.  Dr.  Robert  E.  Speer  became  chairman 
of  the  Commission,  Bishop  Lawrence  of  Massachusetts,  vice-chair- 
man, and  the  writer  of  the  present  volume,  secretary. 

The  Commission  was  organized  on  September  20,  1917,  and  ap- 
pointed an  executive  committee  and  other  committees.  After  defin- 
ing its  relation  to  the  various  religious  agencies  dealing  with  the  war 
work  of  the  churches,  it  expressed  its  own  purposes  as  follows:  ^ 

"1.  To  co-ordinate  existing  and  proposed  activities  and  to  bring 
them  into  intelligent  and  sympathetic  relationship  so  as  to  avoid  all 
waste  and  friction  and  to  promote  efficiency. 

"2.  To  suggest  to  the  proper  agency  or  agencies  any  further 
work  called  for  and  not  being  done. 

"3.  To  provide  for  or  perform  such  work  as  can  best  be  done 
in  a  co-operative  way. 

"4.  To  furnish  means  of  common  and  united  expression  when 
such  is  desired;  and  finally, 

"5.  To  provide  a  body  which  would  be  prepared  to  deal  in  a 
spirit  of  co-operation  with  the  new  problems  of  reconstruction 
which  may  have  to  be  faced  after  the  war." 

Beginning  modestly  as  a  means  of  mutual  acquaintanceship  and 
a  clearing-house  of  information,  the  influence  of  the  Commission 
increased  rapidly.  Besides  the  executive  committee,  more  than 
twenty-five  other  committees  functioned  at  one  time  or  another, 
and  enlisted  the  service  of  a  large  number  of  voluntary  workers.^ 
The  expenses  of  the  Commission,  at  first  defrayed  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions, were  afterward  underwritten  by  fourteen  of  the  co-oper- 
ating bodies  and  when  the  war  ended  it  had  raised  and  expended 
more  than  $300,000,  and  was  operating  on  a  budget  of  $200,000 
a  year. 

From  the  long  list  of  activities  mentioned  by  the  Commission  in 

*  "War-Time  Agencies  of  the  Churches,"  p.  154. 
'Ibid.,  pp.  158-176. 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  105 

its  final  report/  the  following  may  be  selected  as  worthy  of  special 
comment: 

In  the  first  place  the  Commission  served  as  a  clearing-house  of 
information.  When  it  came  into  existence  there  was  no  single  body 
which  possessed  accurate  knowledge  of  what  was  being  done  by  the 
religious  forces  of  the  country  for  the  soldiers  and  sailors.  The 
government  did  not  possess  it;  the  Associations  did  not  possess  it; 
the  churches  did  not  possess  it.  Each  covered  a  part  of  the  field  and 
could  tell  what  was  being  done  by  its  own  representatives,  but  there 
was  no  one  whose  business  it  was  to  cover  the  field  as  a  whole. 
The  Commission  set  itself  at  once  to  remedy  this  lack.  It  under- 
took a  careful  survey  of  the  work  being  done  in  all  of  the  military 
camps  of  the  country  and  made  its  information  accessible  to  all 
who  needed  it. 

More  important  than  the  sharing  of  information  was  the  work 
of  the  Commission  in  bringing  about  personal  contacts  and  rela- 

'The  activities  which  were  undertaken  co-operatively  by  the  churches 
through  the  Commission  were  summed  up  in  its  final  report  as  follows:  "Secur- 
ing and  furnishing  information  concerning  needs  and  opporttmities  for  religious 
work  by  means  of  a  series  of  surveys;  furnishing  to  the  religious  and  secular 
press  information  concerning  the  co-operative  work  of  the  churches;  promot- 
ing a  better  mutual  understanding  of  plans  and  purposes  and  establishing 
more  effective  co-operation  between  the  churches  and  the  welfare  agencies; 
securing  the  appointment  of  an  adequate  number  of  well-qualified  army  and 
navy  chaplains  and  assuring  them  of  the  united  support  of  the  churches  in 
the  endeavor  to  have  them  provided  with  equipment,  rank,  and  organization 
adequate  to  the  effective  performance  of  their  duties;  co-ordinating  the  activ- 
ities of  the  chaplains  and  other  religious  workers  within  the  camps  with  the 
work  of  the  several  churches  in  the  neighborhood;  ascertaining  the  special 
needs  and  providing  for  the  moral  and  religious  welfare  of  Negro  troops;  pro- 
viding religious  ministration  for  interned  aliens;  supplying  printed  matter 
needed  for  the  use  of  chaplains  and  churches;  reinforcing  the  efforts  of  the 
government  to  maintain  a  high  moral  standard  in  the  army,  both  here  and 
overseas,  and  to  conserve  for  the  future  the  results  of  the  present  interest  in 
social  hygiene;  providing  for  the  religious  and  moral  welfare  of  the  workers 
in  communities  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  munitions  of  war  and  in  the 
shipbuilding  industry;  securing  recruits  for  the  work  of  the  churches  at  home 
and  abroad  from  men  in  military  and  naval  service;  stimulating  local  churches 
to  mobilize  their  resources  for  war-time  tasks;  bringing  the  denominations 
together  for  co-operative  effort  in  raising  funds  for  war  work ;  arranging  for  an 
exchange  of  ministerial  service  by  the  ministers  of  America  and  those  of  Great 
Britain  and  other  Allied  countries;  encouraging  the  churches  to  welcome  sol- 
diers and  sailors  upon  their  return  to  civilian  life  and  co-operating  with  the 
government  in  helping  to  secure  for  them  prompt  employment ;  deepening  the 
spirit  of  penitence  and  intercession  among  the  people." 


106  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

tionships.  There  were,  in  the  first  place,  the  different  denomina- 
tional war  commissions  which  needed  to  be  made  known  to  one 
another.  Next  there  were  relationships  to  be  established  between 
the  Associations  and  the  representatives  of  the  churches.  Thirdly, 
there  were  contacts  to  be  brought  about  between  the  Protestant 
religious  forces  and  the  Roman  Catholics  and  Jews.  Finally,  there 
were  problems  affecting  the  relationship  of  the  religious  forces  as  a 
whole  to  governmental  agencies  like  the  Commission  on  Training 
Camp  Activities,  which  were  charged  with  the  moral  and  social 
welfare  of  the  soldiers.  With  all  these  agencies  the  Commission 
was  in  touch.  For  each  it  tried  to  establish  a  natural  point  of 
contact  with  the  others  to  the  end  that  misunderstandings  might 
be  removed  and  more  effective  co-operation  made  possible. 

Much  of  the  time  of  the  Conmiission  was  given  to  increasing  the 
number  and  promoting  the  efficiency  of  the  chaplains.  When  the 
war  broke  out  the  status  of  the  chaplain  was  exceedingly  un- 
satisfactory. In  theory  the  official  representative  of  religion  in 
the  army  and  navy,  in  practice  he  held  an  anomalous  and  ill- 
defined  position.  His  relation  to  the  Church  was  of  the  loosest. 
On  the  funds  so  liberally  contributed  to  equip  the  religious  ac- 
tivities of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  he  could  make 
no  claim.  From  the  government  he  received  only  his  commission, 
and  while  all  other  branches  of  the  army  had  been  elevated  in  dig- 
nity and  in  rank  to  meet  the  new  emergency  of  the  war,  his  status 
remained  still  what  it  was  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  War. 

The  Commission  devoted  much  time  and  energy  to  changing  this 
situation.  Through  its  Washington  committee  it  served  as  the 
agent  of  the  government  in  securing  for  army  and  navy  an  ade- 
quate supply  of  efficient  men  for  the  chaplaincy.  In  its  New 
York  office  it  maintained  a  bureau  which  furnished  equipment  for 
the  chaplains  and  supplied  them  information  on  matters  of  in- 
terest to  them.  It  took  an  active  part  in  the  movement  for  the 
Chaplains'  School,  which  did  much  to  improve  the  training  and  in- 
crease the  efficiency  of  the  service.  From  the  first  it  worked  with 
Roman  Catholics  and  Jews  to  secure  adequate  recognition  of  the 
chaplains  from  the  government  and  provide  them  with  the  kind  of 
organization  which  would  enable  them  to  discharge  their  work 
effectively.  Such  recognition  was  early  secured  for  the  chaplains 
of  the  American  Expeditionary  Force  through  General  Pershing's 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  107 

organization  of  a  chaplains'  corps  under  Bishop  Brent,  but  it 
proved  exceedingly  diflBcult  to  bring  about  similar  action  at  home, 
and  it  was  only  after  the  war  was  over  that  the  desired  end  was 
fully  attained. 

Much  of  the  time  of  the  Commission  was  given  to  the  work  of 
the  camp  pastors  or  voluntary  chaplains  who  were  sent  into 
the  camps  by  the  different  denominational  war  commissions  when 
the  war  broke  out.  The  need  for  the  services  of  these  men  was 
due  partly  to  the  slowness  with  which  the  regular  chaplains 
were  appointed,  partly  to  the  limitations  put  upon  the  religious 
activities  of  the  Association  secretaries  during  the  early  days  of 
the  war.^  Their  presence  in  large  numbers  raised  many  difficult 
questions  of  adjustment  which  taxed  the  skill  and  patience  of 
all  concerned.  Conferences  were  held  in  different  centres  at- 
tended by  representative  camp  pastors  of  different  denominations, 
and  principles  of  co-operation  worked  out  which  did  much  to  re- 
move the  causes  of  friction  and  promote  harmony  and  good  feeling. 

The  Commission  proved  particularly  useful  in  the  case  of  the 
smaller  denominational  bodies  whose  limited  numbers  and  re- 
sources made  it  impossible  for  them  to  create  effective  agencies 
of  their  own.  These  found  in  the  Commission  a  natural  outlet  for 
their  energy  and  responded  liberally  to  its  appeal  for  money  and 
men. 

Of  the  special  pieces  of  work  undertaken  by  the  Commission  on 
behalf  of  the  churches,  the  following  deserve  a  word  of  further 
mention:  first,  the  work  done  by  the  Commission  in  interpreting 
the  needs  of  the  Negro  troops  to  the  responsible  authorities;  ^  sec- 
ondly, its  success  in  bringing  about  a  united  approach  of  the 
churches  to  the  munition  workers  employed  in  the  large  plants 
operated  by  the  government;  and  finally,  its  work  in  securing  from 
the  army  authorities  for  candidates  for  the  ministry-  the  privilege  of 
continuing  their  professional  studies  under  army  auspices  during 
the  period  between  the  signing  of  the  armistice  and  their  muster- 
ing out  of  the  service. 

In  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  War  at  Washington,  there 
gathered  for  conference  one  day  early  in  the  war  a  group  of 
seventeen  men.    They  had  been  brought  together  at  the  invitation 

'  Cf .  p.  96. 

'Cf.  "War-Time  Agencies  of  the  Churches,"  pp.  167,  168. 


108  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  the  War-Time  Commission  to  talk  over  with  the  representatives 
of  the  government  the  needs  of  the  Negro  troops.  They  came 
both  from  the  North  and  from  the  South.  Half  were  white  and 
half  were  colored.  The  spokesman  of  the  committee  was  Dr. 
Ashby  Jones,  the  son  of  Robert  E.  Lee's  old  chaplain.  In  that 
impressive  historic  setting,  with  Grant  and  Sherman  and  Sheridan 
looking  down  from  their  places  on  the  wall,  this  son  of  the  Con- 
federacy, addressing  a  general  of  the  United  States  Army,  also 
born  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  spoke  on  behalf  of  colored 
soldiers  fighting  side  by  side  with  white  men  in  a  cause  which 
was  now  the  common  cause  of  all  Americans — the  defence  of  lib- 
erty under  law. 

The  service  of  the  Commission  to  the  munition  workers  was 
rendered  through  the  Joint  Conmiittee  on  War  Production  Com- 
munities.^ This  was  an  interdenominational  committee  including 
representatives  of  the  Home  Mission  Boards  and  of  the  Associations, 
both  men  and  women.  Through  this  committee  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  different  communities  were  surveyed  and  thirty  others  vis- 
ited, and  the  information  gained  was  put  at  the  disposal  of  the 
interested  parties.  A  plan  of  common  action  was  adopted  as  a  re- 
sult of  which  the  different  bodies  represented  co-operated  in  estab- 
lishing Liberty  churches  in  centres  where  denominational  work 
was  impossible  and  in  securing  the  support  of  these  churches  by  the 
co-operating  denominations  under  a  plan  mutually  agreed  upon. 
In  other  communities  where  it  was  possible  to  work  through  de- 
nominational agencies,  the  committee  succeeded  in  bringing  about 
effective  co-operation  between  the  bodies  represented.  In  these 
plans  the  two  Associations  heartily  co-operated. 

The  work  for  prospective  theological  students  was  carried  on 
through  the  Committee  on  Recruiting  and  Training  for  the  Work 
of  the  Church  at  Home  and  Abroad,  an  interdenominational  com- 
mittee including  well-known  educators  like  Presidents  J.  Ross  Ste- 
venson and  William  Douglas  Mackenzie,  as  well  as  representatives 
of  the  Boards  of  Education  of  the  churches  and  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  Through  this  committee  a  united  front 
was  presented  to  the  army  authorities  and  privileges  gained  for 
Protestant  theological  students  which  could  not  have  been  obtained 
in  any  other  way.    Under  the  arrangement  made  possible  by  this 

^  Cf .  "War-Time  Agencies  of  the  Churches,"  pp.  193-199. 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  109 

committee  more  than  one  hundred  students  of  different  denomina- 
tions carried  on  their  studies  in  theology  in  selected  universities 
in  England  and  Scotland  for  a  number  of  months,  and  but  for 
an  unfortunate  delay  in  the  time  of  the  announcement  of  the  plan 
this  number  would  have  been  largely  increased. 

Thus  serving  as  a  clearing-house  of  information,  a  co-ordinating 
agency,  and,  when  desired,  a  means  of  joint  administration,  the 
General  War-Time  Commission  enabled  the  churches  to  face  their 
new  problems  and  responsibilities  together.  In  the  war  work  of 
the  churches  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  unity  was  not  only 
worked  for  but  to  a  very  considerable  degree  achieved. 

This  unity  came  to  clearest  expression  in  the  Interchurch 
Emergency  Campaign — a  campaign  carried  on  by  fourteen  of  the 
larger  denominations  to  secure  the  funds  needed  for  their  common 
war  work.  In  this  campaign  the  needs  of  the  General  War-Time 
Commission  were  presented  side  by  side  with  the  needs  of  the 
various  denominational  war  commissions,  and  provision  was  made 
for  the  former  in  the  budgets  of  the  latter.  In  the  course  of  the 
campaign,  impressive  meetings  were  held  in  the  interests  of  Chris- 
tian unity  in  a  number  of  different  cities,  the  most  notable  being 
that  held  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Divine  at  the  invitation 
of  Bishop  Greer.^ 

This  gratifying  result  was  possible  because  of  the  scrupulous 
care  with  which  the  Commission  observed  the  limitations  of  its 
authority.  Including  members  of  widely  different  bodies,  repre- 
senting different  and  often  conflicting  ideals  of  religious  duty,  it 
was  careful  not  to  go  further  than  its  constituent  bodies  would 
approve.  The  executive  committee  met  every  two  weeks  during 
the  war,  and  its  members,  all  of  them  responsible  officers  of  im- 
portant organizations,  came  to  know  and  to  trust  one  another. 
Many  a  difficulty,  which  at  first  sight  seemed  insuperable,  yielded 
to  persistent  attack,  and  unities  were  revealed  which  surprised 
those  who  discovered  them. 

A  second  reason  which  accounted  for  the  success  of  the  Com- 
mission was  the  fact  that  though  unofficial  in  character,  it  was 
composed  of  men  who  were  themselves  officials.     The  men  who 

*At  this  meeting,  which  was  addressed  by  representatives  of  the  govern- 
ment and  of  different  denominations,  the  building  was  packed  to  the  doors  and 
many  hundreds  could  not  gain  admission. 


110  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

served  on  its  executive  committee  were  not  only  persons  who  com- 
manded the  confidence  of  the  religious  denominations  to  which 
they  belonged,  but  who  because  of  their  positions  as  secretaries 
of  the  denominational  war  commissions  were  able  to  carry  their 
bodies  with  them  in  any  course  of  action  they  recommended. 
This  accounts  for  the  generous  contributions  made  to  the  funds 
of  the  Commission  by  the  co-operating  bodies,  contributions  which, 
coming  as  they  did  from  the  denominational  treasuries,  relieved 
the  Commission  after  the  first  few  months  of  the  necessity  of  mak- 
ing any  appeal  to  individuals  and  made  its  work  in  the  fullest 
sense  representative  of  the  Church  as  a  whole. 

As  a  visible  symbol  of  the  spirit  of  the  Commission  we  may 
take  the  chapel  at  Camp  Upton.  Midway  between  the  administra- 
tion building  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the 
headquarters  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  a  visitor  to  this  camp 
might  have  seen  an  attractive  building  which  bore  the  title,  "Church 
Headquarters."  It  had  a  chapel  of  dignity  and  beauty,  where  un- 
der conditions  that  ministered  to  reverence  the  more  sacred  and 
more  intimate  services  of  religion  could  be  conducted.  It  had 
offices  for  pastoral  conference,  where  chaplains,  regular  or  vol- 
untary, met  men  for  private  interviews  on  matters  of  personal 
religion.  It  had  residence  rooms  for  visiting  clerg^^men,  and  above 
all  a  conference  room,  where  from  week  to  week  chaplains  and 
other  religious  workers  met  to  take  counsel  for  the  spiritual  in- 
terests of  the  camp  as  a  whole.  The  building  was  erected  and 
paid  for  by  seven  different  denominations  ^  acting  through  the 
General  War-Time  Commission.  It  was  opened  with  a  service 
participated  in  by  Protestants,  Roman  Catholics,  and  Jews,  at 
which  the  commanding  general  delivered  the  address.  From  that 
time  until  the  camp  was  discontinued  in  1920  it  was  used  by  all  the 
religious  forces  of  the  camp,  chaplains,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretaries, 
and  voluntary  workers,  in  the  utmost  sympathy  and  harmony. 

Far  more  important  than  any  particular  thing  which  the  Com- 
mission did  was  its  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  at  a  critical 
time  it  was  possible  for  American  Protestants  to  act  together. 
Through  the  Commission  not  only  the  bodies  which  were  con- 
stituent members  of  the  Federal  Council,  but  churches  like  the 

*  Presbyterian,   Episcopal,   Congregational,   Lutheran,   Baptist,    Methodist, 
and  Reformed. 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  111 

Lutheran,  the  Episcopal,  and  the  Southern  Baptist  which  had 
hitherto  had  no  direct  representation  in  the  Council,^  found  an 
organ  of  common  expression.  In  this  fact  above  all  others  lies  our 
hope  for  the  future.  What  has  been  done  once  can  be  done  again. 
It  must  be  done  again  unless  we  are  to  slip  back  into  the  old  habits 
of  isolation  and  rivalry  from  which  for  a  brief  few  months  we 
escaped  into  a  larger  and  more  unselfish  life. 

6.     The  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook 

In  the  light  of  these  facts  we  must  appreciate  the  significance 
of  the  last  of  the  committees  of  the  General  War-Time  Commission, 
one  which,  while  it  had  its  inception  during  the  war,  has  continued 
to  function  in  time  of  peace.  We  refer  to  the  Committee  on  the 
War  and  the  Religious  Outlook.^ 

Long  before  the  war  was  over  those  who  were  responsible  for 
the  work  of  the  Commission  began  to  realize  that  when  peace  came 
their  work  would  be  only  half  done.  There  would  be  problems 
connected  with  demobilization  quite  as  serious  as  any  which  had 
been  faced  by  the  churches  during  the  war;  and  the  whole  ques- 
tion of  after-war  conditions  and  plans  would  require  careful  study 
and  preparation  for  which  it  was  impossible  to  begin  to  get  ready 
too  soon.  With  this  in  view,  on  April  2,  1918,  the  Committee  on 
the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook  was  formed.  This  was  an 
interdenominational  committee  of  some  thirty  members,  consisting 
of  representatives  of  the  larger  Protestant  churches  as  well  as  of 
the  two  Christian  Associations.  It  was  constituted  by  the  joint 
action  of  the  General  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches  and 
of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America.  Its 
purpose,  as  defined  at  the  time  of  its  appointment,  was  "to  con- 
sider the  state  of  religion  as  revealed  or  affected  by  the  war,  with 
special  reference  to  the  duty  and  opportunity  of  the  churches,  and 
to  prepare  its  findings  for  submission  to  the  churches."  Con- 
ceived under  the  shadow  of  war  strain  and  of  war  responsibility, 
and  beginning  its  work  while  the  Armistice  was  still  in  the  in- 

*  It  is  true  that  the  Episcopal  Church  co-operates  with  the  Council  through 
its  Commissions  on  Social  Service  and  Christian  Unity,  but  it  is  not  a  con- 
stituent member  of  the  Council. 

'  Cf .  the  author's  pamphlet,  "The  Church  Facing  the  Future,"  published  by 
the  Federal  Council,  1921. 


112  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

definite  future,  it  has  continued  its  studies  during  the  years  of 
reconstruction,  and  found  the  reasons  which  at  first  sight  seemed 
to  justify  its  appointment  reinforced  by  a  closer  acquaintance  with 
the  new  conditions  under  which  the  major  part  of  its  work  has 
been  done.  Indeed,  if  the  Committee  rightly  interprets  the  sig- 
nificance of  its  work,  it  is  to  be  understood  less  as  a  contribution 
to  a  passing  emergency  than  as  a  new  method  of  approach  to  prob- 
lems which  are  always  with  us — an  experiment  in  co-operative 
thinking  which,  if  it  has  any  measure  of  success,  will  warrant 
its  repetition  or  continuance. 

While  created  by  the  initiative  of  the  Federal  Council  and  the 
General  War-Time  Commission  as  a  result  of  their  conviction  that 
the  war  had  laid  upon  the  churches  the  duty  of  the  most  thorough 
self-examination,  the  Committee  was  given  entire  freedom  to  act 
according  to  its  own  judgment  as  to  method  of  procedure,  sub- 
jects to  be  studied,  and  persons  to  be  associated  in  the  work. 
Originally  consisting  of  nine  members,  it  has  added  to  its  num- 
ber until  its  present  membership  consists  of  twenty-eight,  repre- 
senting nine  different  denominations,  as  well  as  the  two  Christian 
Associations.  In  addition,  a  large  number  of  other  persons — one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  in  all — have  served  on  its  sub-commit- 
tees, and  to  a  still  larger  number  it  is  indebted  for  active  assistance 
and  helpful  suggestions.  It  has  already  to  its  credit  five  sub- 
stantial volumes,  with  a  sixth  to  follow,^  as  well  as  a  number  of 
pamphlets  on  important  contemporaneous  issues.^ 

*The  volumes  referred  to  above  are  "The  War  and  Religion:  A  Bibliog- 
raphy," 1919;  "Religion  Among  American  Men:  As  Revealed  by  a  Study  of 
Conditions  in  the  Army,"  1920;  "The  Missionary  Outlook  in  the  Light  of  the 
War,"  1920;  "The  Church  and  Industrial  Reconstruction,"  1920;  "Christian 
Unity:  Its  Principles  and  Possibilities,"  1921,  Association  Press,  New  York.  A 
sixth  volume  is  soon  to  appear  entitled,  "The  Teaching  Work  of  the  Church." 
With  the  appearance  of  this  volume,  the  work  of  the  Committee  will  be  com- 
pleted. 

'Robert  E.  Speer,  "The  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook,"  1919;  W.  H.  P. 
Faunce,  "Christian  Principles  Essential  to  a  New  World  Order,"  1919;  Harry 
Emerson  Fosdick,  "The  Church's  Message  to  the  Nation,"  1919;  Francis  J. 
McConnell,  "Christian  Principles  and  Industrial  Reconstruction,"  1919;  Wil- 
liam Douglas  Mackenzie,  "The  Church  and  Religious  Education,"  1919; 
William  P.  Shriver,  "The  New  Home  Mission  of  the  Church,"  1919;  Herbert 
N.  Shenton,  "Christian  Aspects  of  Economic  Reconstruction,"  1920;  Rhoda  E. 
McCulloch,  "The  War  and  the  Woman  Point  of  View,"  1920;  Charles  W. 
Gilkey,  "The  Local  Church  After  the  War,"  1920.  Association  Press,  New 
York. 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH  LEARNED  IN  THE  WAR  113 

It  had  been  hoped  that  these  studies  would  be  far  enough  ad- 
vanced before  peace  came  to  serve  as  a  contribution  toward  a  peace 
policy  for  the  Church.  Unfortunately  this  was  not  the  case. 
When  in  November,  1918,  the  Armistice  was  declared,  it  found 
both  church  and  nation  no  less  unprepared  than  at  the  outbreak 
of  war.  In  the  unexpected  relief  at  the  sudden  lifting  of  the 
war  cloud,  future  difficulties  and  dangers  were  under-estimated. 
The  war  machinery  of  the  churches  was  discarded  as  rapidly 
as  it  had  been  devised.  The  Church  like  the  nation  moved  forward 
into  the  new  conditions  introduced  by  demobilization  with  little 
suspicion  of  the  gravity  of  the  issues  confronting  it. 


CHAPTER  VII 

WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE   CHURCH 

1.     The  Situation  in  Which  the  War  Left  the  Church 

We  have  seen  where  the  war  found  the  Church.  We  have  seen 
what  the  Church  learned  in  the  war.  It  remains  to  point  out  where 
the  war  has  left  the  Church ;  to  show  in  what  spirit  and  with  what 
resources  the  Church  is  facing  the  problems  of  the  new  day. 

Three  things  the  war  did  for  the  churches.  It  showed  them  the 
inadequacy  of  their  present  organization  and  methods;  it  revealed 
to  them  the  existence  of  unsuspected  resources;  it  inspired  them 
with  an  extravagant  hope.  The  inadequacy  consisted  in  the 
churches'  failure  to  provide  the  necessary  organization  for  effective 
co-operation.  The  resources  were  the  latent  idealism  in  the  heart 
of  the  American  people  and  their  undreamed-of  capacity  for  self- 
sacrifice  in  a  worthy  cause.  The  hope  was  that  by  some  simple 
concerted  effort  these  resources  might  be  effectively  mobilized  for 
the  service  of  religion,  and  the  churches,  which  had  showed  that 
they  could  work  together  during  the  war,  might  continue  their 
united  effort  on  an  even  larger  scale  in  time  of  peace. 

In  the  first  place,  the  war  revealed  to  the  churches  the  in- 
adequacy of  the  present  denominational  system.  Individuals  in 
the  different  churches  had  long  realized  this  inadequacy.  Their 
knowledge  was  now  shared  with  multitudes  of  Christians.  They 
realized  for  the  first  time  the  price  they  had  been  paying  for  the 
independence  in  which  they  had  gloried.  They  had  had  the  ex- 
perience of  working  together  for  a  great  cause  and  they  had  found 
it  satisfying  and  inspiring. 

But  the  war  taught  them  more  than  this.  It  revealed  to  them 
the  latent  possibilities  in  human  nature  and  not  least  in  them- 
selves. It  translated  the  great  words  about  sacrifice  and  service 
which  had  been  so  often  on  their  lips  into  sober  and  familiar 
realities.  Old  words  about  the  cross  took  on  a  new  meaning. 
They  realized,  as  they  had  never  realized  before,  what  it  meant 

114 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  115 

to  serve  a  Master  who,  though  He  was  rich,  yet  for  their  sakes 
had  become  poor.  They,  too,  had  given  up  what  they  most  prized 
and  had  been  content  to  make  the  sacrifice. 

What  they  had  experienced  in  themselves  they  had  witnessed 
in  others.  Men  and  women  outside  the  Christian  church,  who 
made  no  profession  of  religion,  people  whom  they  had  regarded 
as  narrow  and  selfish,  often  as  downright  bad,  had  responded, 
like  themselves,  to  the  country's  call.  They  perceived  that  the 
capacity  for  sacrifice  is  not  confined  to  any  group  or  creed;  that 
it  is  a  human  capacity,  waiting  only  the  occasion  to  call  it  forth, 
and  with  this  insight  came  a  great  desire  to  utilize  this  capacity  in 
the  cause  of  religion. 

Out  of  this  double  insight — of  failure  and  of  capacity — was 
born  a  great  hope — the  hope  that  the  lessons  the  war  had  taught 
might  be  learned  at  once  and  for  all  time;  that  the  churches,  con- 
fronted by  so  splendid  an  opportunity,  might  meet  the  challenge 
in  a  spirit  as  splendid;  might  throw  aside  all  pettiness  and 
provinciality,  pride  of  sect  or  advantage  of  position,  and  ask  only 
what  each  could  contribute  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole.  This 
ideal  of  a  national  church,  conscious  of  its  aim  and  of  its  power, 
cherished  now  and  again  by  some  exceptional  spirit,  became  for 
one  brief  moment  the  inspiring  motive  of  multitudes  of  Christians. 

2.     The  Interchurch  World  Movement  as  the  Attempt  to  Express 

the  Church's  Post-War  Ideals  in  Action.    The  Reasons  for 

its  Failure 

The  most  signal  expression  of  this  hope  was  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement.^  It  crystallized  into  a  definite  programme  the 
emotions  and  aspirations  called  forth  by  the  war.  It  was  the 
religious  counterpart  of  the  League  of  Nations,  and  it  shared  the 
splendor  and  the  weakness  of  that  daring  venture. 

We  are  too  near  both  these  great  experiments  to  judge  them 

*0n  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  cf.  "Handbook  of  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement,"  New  York,  1919;  "World  Survey  by  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement,"  two  volumes,  New  York,  1920.  Cf.  also  Oldham,  "The 
Interchurch  World  Movement:  Its  Possibilities  and  Problems,"  in  the  Inter- 
national Review  of  Mi'isions,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  182  sq.  "The  Truth  About  the  Inter- 
church, by  a  member  of  the  General  Committee,"  Christian  Work,  December 
11,  December  18,  1920;  "Christian  Unity:  Its  Principles  and  Possibilities," 
pp.  140  sq. 


116  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

justly.  In  our  reaction  from  our  extravagant  hopes  it  is  easy 
for  us  to  exaggerate  their  weakness  and  their  failure.  No  great 
ideal  is  ever  realized  over-night,  and  it  may  well  be  that  the 
historian  of  the  spiritual  progress  of  mankind  will  look  back  to 
these  two  great  essays  in  co-operative  endeavor  as  landmarks  by 
which  to  date  the  progress  of  the  race.  We  must  be  content  with 
the  more  modest  task  of  learning  what  they  can  teach  us  of  the 
spiritual  state  of  America  inamediately   after  the  war. 

The  Interchurch  World  Movement  was  the  attempt  to  unite 
all  the  benevolent  and  missionary  agencies  of  American  Protestant- 
ism in  a  single  campaign  for  money,  men,  and  spiritual  power.  It 
originated  in  a  conference  of  representatives  of  various  missionary 
and  benevolent  boards  held  in  December,  1918,  and  differed  from 
previous  efforts  of  a  similar  nature  in  that  it  included  all  forms 
of  the  Church's  work  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Its  General  Com- 
mittee early  defined  the  movement  as  "a  co-operative  effort  of 
the  missionary,  educational,  and  other  benevolent  agencies  of  the, 
evangelical  churches  of  the  United  States  and  of  Canada  to  survey 
unitedly  their  present  common  tasks  and  simultaneously  and  to- 
gether to  secure  the  necessary  resources  of  men  and  money  and 
power  required  for  these  tasks."  ^ 

The  purposes  which  the  movement  set  for  itself  were  as  fol- 
lows: ^ 

"1.  To  make  a  thorough  analysis  of  the  total  world  task  of 
the  church,  locality  by  locality  and  item  by  item,  to  the  end 
that  neglected  fields  might  be  discovered;  important  existing  work 
strengthened;  unjustifiable  work  eliminated;  and  helpful  relation- 
ships between  all  agencies  and  workers  established. 

"2.  To  conduct  a  continuous  campaign  of  education,  making 
use  of  ascertained  facts,  projected  upon  broad  and  varied  lines 
and  carried  out  upon  a  scale  adequate  to  secure  the  attention  of 
the  nation  at  large,  and,  if  possible,  to  convince  the  judgment  and 
awake  the  interest  of  millions  of  people  now  wholly  or  largely  un- 
touched by  Christ's  call  to  world  service. 

"3.  To  give  co-operative  leadership  to  the  Church  in  the  fields 
of  industrial  relations,  philanthropy,  evangelism,  and  education,  to 

*Cf.  "Christian  Unity:  Its  Principles  and  Possibilities,"  p.  140. 
'Op.  cit.,  p.  143. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  117 

the  end  that  the  Church  may  more  wisely  and  amply  meet  her 
obligations  in  these  areas  of  service. 

"4.  To  conduct  a  campaign  for  recruits  to  the  ministry  and 
mission  service. 

"5.  To  make  simultaneous  and  united  appeal  for  funds,  suf- 
ficient in  amount  to  support  the  sort  of  effort  at  home  and  abroad 
demanded  by  the  conditions  of  the  hour." 

Beginning  as  a  voluntary  enterprise  of  the  participating  boards, 
the  work  soon  assumed  such  proportions  that  the  official  endorse- 
ment of  the  parent  bodies  proved  necessary.  The  interest  of  the 
co-operating  churches  was  recognized  in  the  provision  adopted  in 
September,  1919,  that  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  membership  of 
the  General  Committee  should  consist  of  persons  approved  by  the 
various  denominations. 

Those  who  were  active  in  the  movement  disclaimed  any  pur- 
pose to  set  up  a  new  agency  with  independent  administrative  powers 
or  even  to  undertake  to  determine  the  policy  of  the  co-operating 
churches.  They  confined  their  purpose  to  the  "ascertaining  and 
portraying  of  facts,  to  calling  the  attention  of  the  churches  and 
their  agencies  to  the  needs  revealed  by  these  facts,  and  to  encourag- 
ing the  churches,  through  co-operative  effort,  to  work  out  the  prob- 
lems involved."^  Yet  in  the  nature  of  the  case  the  large  scale 
on  which  the  movement  was  projected,  the  number  of  persons 
employed,  and  the  vast  sums  of  money  expended  gave  those  who 
were  directing  it  a  power  out  of  proportion  to  the  modesty  of 
their  professions. 

If  the  responsibility  of  the  movement  to  the  co-operating 
churches  was  recognized  in  the  statement  just  quoted,  its  relation 
to  the  existing  interdenominational  agencies  was  left  undefined.  No 
provision  was  made  for  these  in  the  budget  which  was  to  be  raised  ^ 
and  their  part  in  shaping  the  Church's  policy  on  the  basis  of  the 
facts  to  be  disclosed  was  left  for  the  future  to  determine.  The  plan 
of  the  Interchurch  Movement  contemplated  two  things  only: 
the  raising  of  the  budgets  of  the  different  co-operating  denomina- 
tions as  these  should  be  determined  by  the  preliminary-  survey,  and 

*  Statement  of  the  General  Committee  at  Atlantic  City  in  January,  1920, 
quoted  in  "Christian  Unity,"  p.  141. 

'The  only  exception  was  in  the  case  of  the  Missionary  Education  Move- 
ment. 


118  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

an  appeal  to  friendly  citizens,  both  within  and  without  the  Church, 
for  an  extra  sum  which  would  not  only  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
movement,  but  provide  a  margin  for  worthy  objects  long  neglected 
in  the  denominational  field.    This  sum  was  placed  at  forty  million 

dollars. 

In  its  year  and  a  half  of  existence  the  movement  conducted  an 
extensive  and  vigorous  campaign  of  publicity  through  conferences, 
addresses,  and  the  daily  press;  initiated  surveys  in  the  fields  of 
home  missions,  foreign  missions,  and  religious  education;  undertook 
through  its  Committee  on  Industrial  Relations  an  investigation  of 
the  steel  strike  and  both  directly  through  its  central  office  and 
in  co-operation  with  the  organizations  of  the  various  denomina- 
tions canvassed  the  churches  in  the  interest  of  the  budgets  which 
had  been  agreed  upon.  In  the  case  of  the  denominational  bodies 
a  large  measure  of  success  was  reached,^  but  the  campaign  among 
the  friendly  citizens  was  a  serious  disappointment.  Scarcely  three 
million  dollars  of  the  forty  millions  asked  was  raised  and  the  de- 
nominations which  had  expected  this  fund  to  take  care  of  the  ex- 
penses of  the  movement  were  called  upon  to  make  contributions  for 
this  purpose  from  their  own  treasuries,  which  amounted  in  the  case 
of  the  larger  denominations  to  many  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  criticisms  called  forth  by  this  result  led  to  the  appointment  of  a 
reorganization  committee  in  1920,  which,  while  commending  the 
movement  for  what  it  had  already  accomplished,  recommended 
radical  changes  in  its  methods  and  ratio  of  expense.  Some  months 
later  it  was  voted  to  discontinue  the  movement  altogether  and 
to  turn  over  the  survey  material  which  it  had  gathered  to  other 
organizations. 

The  wide  publicity  given  to  the  Interchurch  World  Movement 
and  the  extravagant  hopes  which  it  raised  make  it  important  to 

*  No  exact  statistics  of  the  amount  raised  are  available.  An  incomplete  list 
furnished  by  the  secretary  of  the  movement  puts  the  amounts  actually  re- 
ceived by  the  co-operating  churches  during  the  year  from  May,  1920,  to  May, 
1921,  at  approximately  $39,000,000.  This  list  does  not  include  the  Methodists, 
who  had  already  completed  their  campaign,  and  it  takes  no  account  of  pledges 
which  would  greatly  increase  the  total. 

The  total  amount  raised  by  all  the  co-operating  bodies  is  put  by  a  writer 
in  the  Christian  Work  at  scarcely  less  than  $200,000,000.  This  sum  includes 
pledges  covering  a  five-year  period.  Cf.  "The  Truth  about  the  Interchurch," 
op.  cit.,  December  11,  1920,  p.  713. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  119 

learn  what  it  can  teach  us  both  as  to  the  causes  which  inspired 
the  movement  and  the  reasons  for  its  failure. 

For  one  thing  it  teaches  us  the  power  of  a  great  ideal  to  unite 
and  inspire.  No  one  who  was  present  in  the  upper  room  on  that 
momentous  December  daj^  when  the  Interchurch  World  Movement 
was  born  ^  can  forget  the  thrill  of  expectation  which  stirred  those 
who  had  gathered  there.  They  were  men  of  long  experience — sec- 
retaries of  church  boards,  professors  in  theological  seminaries,  vet- 
eran workers  in  the  cause  of  home  and  foreign  missions,  and  they 
knew  the  weaknesses  and  limitations  of  the  bodies  they  served 
to  the  full.  But  they  had  seen  a  vision — the  vision  of  a  united 
church  uniting  a  divided  world,  and  under  the  spell  of  what  they 
saw  all  things  seemed  possible.  Difficulties  were  waved  aside, 
doubters  were  silenced.  In  the  face  of  an  opportunity  so  un- 
paralleled there  seemed  but  one  thing  to  do,  and  that  was  to  go 
forward. 

What  followed  we  know  only  too  well.  The  causes  which  led  to 
the  failure  of  the  movement  have  been  so  fully  explained  that  it  is 
needless  to  linger  over  them  here — the  failure  to  take  account  of 
the  time  element;  the  disposition  to  make  expectation  do  duty  for 
accomplishment;  the  difficulty  of  securing  an  efficient  staff  for  a 
work  which  must  be  done  quickly  if  at  all;  the  lack  of  a  proper 
sense  of  proportion  as  between  income  and  outgo;  above  all,  the 
failure  to  lay  a  sound  basis  for  the  work  by  the  quiet  conferences 
and  careful  planning  which  are  essential  to  permanent  success — 
these  were  some  of  the  more  obvious  reasons  for  failure.  But  above 
and  beyond  all  these,  there  were  two  which  need  more  careful  con- 
sideration, for  they  give  us  the  key  to  our  understanding  of  the 
situation  in  which  the  Church  found  itself  after  the  war.  The  first 
was  the  failure  to  take  account  of  the  strength  of  the  denomina- 
tional spirit  in  the  country ;  the  second  was  inability  to  foresee  the 
widespread  moral  reaction  into  which  the  sudden  cessation  from  the 
strain  of  war  would  plunge  the  nation  and  the  Church. 

When  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  was  first  conceived, 
those  who  were  responsible  for  its  initiation  hoped  to  make  it  an 

*The  meeting  which  initiated  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  was  held 
at  25  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City,  on  December  17,  1918,  at  the  invita- 
tion of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church. 


120  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

all  embracing  movement.  They  planned  a  single  central  com- 
mittee in  which  all  the  different  interests  should  be  represented, 
not  only  the  denominational  church  boards,  and  other  official  bodies, 
but  the  Christian  Associations  and  similar  voluntary  agencies  as 
well.  It  was  their  wish  to  provide  a  single  treasury  into  which 
all  monies  contributed  should  be  paid  and  from  which  the  due 
proportion  should  be  distributed  to  each  of  the  co-operating 
agencies.^ 

But  such  an  arrangement  proved  impossible  to  effect.  The 
same  influences  which  had  led  to  the  desire  for  effective  inter- 
denominational co-operation  had  been  operating  in  the  denomina- 
tions as  well.  To  them  as  well  as  to  the  Church  at  large  the  war 
had  been  a  revelation  at  once  of  weakness  and  of  strength — weak- 
ness in  the  ineffectiveness  of  their  denominational  organization, 
strength  in  the  spiritual  resources  of  their  members.  To  them, 
too,  the  war  came  as  a  call  to  set  their  house  in  order,  and  the 
result  appeared  in  a  number  of  denominational  forward  move- 
ments, of  which  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  was  compelled 
to  take  account.^ 

For  one  thing  it  found  the  denominations  already  committed 
to  definite  plans  which  had  gone  too  far  to  be  recalled,  even  had 
the  will  to  change  them  been  present.    But  more  significant  still 

^  Cf.  "The  Truth  about  the  Interchurch,"  pp.  712,  714. 

*A  hst  of  the  more  important  movements  is  as  follows:  The  New  World 
Movement  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention  (now  under  the  direction  of 
the  General  Board  of  Promotion) ;  the  Forward  Movement  of  the  Christian 
Church;  the  Congregational  World  Movement;  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Educational  Endowment  Commission;  the  United  Christian  Missionary  So- 
ciety; the  Centennial  Movement  of  the  Churches  of  God;  the  Department 
of  Nation-Wide  Campaign  of  the  Presiding  Bishop  and  Council  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church;  the  Forward  Movement  of  the  Evangelical 
Association;  the  Forward  Movement  of  the  Evangelical  Synod;  the  Forward 
Movement  of  Friends  in  America;  the  Committee  on  Conservation  and  Ad- 
vance of  the  Council  of  the  Boards  of  Benevolence  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church;  the  Centenary  Movement  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South; 
the  Forward  Movement  in  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church;  the  Larger  Life 
Movement  of  the  Moravian  Church;  the  New  Era  Movement  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.;  the  Presbyterian  (U.  S.)  Progressive  Pro- 
gram; the  Progress  Campaign  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America;  the 
Forward  Movement  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  U.  S.;  the  New  Forward 
Movement  of  the  Seventh  Day  Baptist  General  Conference;  the  United  En- 
listment Movement  of  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ;  the 
Forward  Movement  of  the  United  Evangelical  Church;  the  New  World  Move- 
ment of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  121 

it  found  a  purpose  to  perfect  and  strengthen  the  denominational 
organization  which  left  little  energy  and  leisure  for  effective  co- 
operation in  a  movement  so  ambitious  as  the  Interchurch  World 
Movement.  In  two  important  respects  it  proved  necessary  to 
modify  the  original  plans.  It  was  necessary,  in  the  first  place, 
in  order  to  preserve  the  interchurch  character  of  the  movement, 
to  restrict  the  co-operating  bodies  to  the  official  agencies  of  the 
denominations;  it  was  necessary,  in  the  second  place,  to  abandon 
the  central  treasury,  except  for  the  purpose  of  financing  the  move- 
ment itself,  and  for  such  further  objects  as  the  generosity  of  the 
general  public  might  make  possible. 

A  similar  situation  met  the  General  War-Time  Commission 
of  the  Churches  on  a  smaller  scale  a  year  before,  but  it  was  dealt 
with  in  a  different  way.  Here,  too,  it  was  at  first  proposed  to 
finance  the  entire  war  work  of  the  churches  from  a  central  treasury, 
and  here,  too,  the  plan  was  abandoned  because  of  its  conflict  with 
the  denominational  programmes.  All  that  it  proved  practicable 
to  do  was  to  provide  for  common  publicity,  as  was  done  later 
by  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  on  a  far  larger  scale.  The 
cost  of  this  publicity  was  assumed  by  the  bodies  which  united  in 
the  campaign  from  the  funds  of  their  war  commissions,  whereas 
in  the  case  of  the  Interchurch  it  was  hoped  to  cover  all  the  ex- 
penses of  the  movement  from  the  contributions  of  friendly  citi- 
zens. But  there  was  this  further  difference  between  the  two  plans, 
that  in  the  former  case  the  expenses  of  the  co-operative  work 
carried  on  by  the  Commission  itself  were  assumed  by  the  co-operat- 
ing bodies  as  a  part  of  their  own  denominational  programme, 
whereas,  in  the  latter  case,  no  provision  at  all  was  made  for  the 
interdenominational  agencies  like  the  Federal  Council,  the  Home 
Missions  Council,  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference,  the  Council 
of  Church  Boards  of  Education,  etc.,  whose  work  corresponded  in 
time  of  peace  to  the  work  done  by  the  War-Time  Commission  in 
time  of  war.  Thus  the  net  result  of  the  campaign,  appealing  as 
it  did  to  the  sources  from  which  these  agencies  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  draw  their  support,  was  to  leave  them  for  the  moment 
weaker  than  before.  The  bond  between  the  denominational  and 
interdenominational  programme  which  had  been  knit  by  the  war 
was  parted,  and  in  the  discouragement  caused  by  the  failure  of  the 
campaign,  so  far  as  its  interdenominational   features   were   con- 


122  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

cerned,  many  were  led  to  lose  faith  in  the  co-operative  programme 
of  the  churches. 

One  reason  for  what  would  otherwise  appear  a  surprising  over- 
sight is  doubtless  to  be  found  in  the  extravagant  hopes  entertained 
for  the  friendly  citizens'  campaign.  From  the  funds  raised  in  this 
way  it  was  hoped  to  finance  not  only  the  movement  itself,  but 
also  to  take  care  of  the  interdenominational  interests  referred  to 
above.  The  nearly  complete  failure  of  this  campaign  left  these 
most  important  enterprises   almost  wholly  unprovided   for. 

But  even  had  the  campaign  been  successful,  the  moral  effect 
would  have  been  different  from  that  reached  in  the  case  of  the 
General  War-Time  Commission.  There  the  co-operating  churches 
themselves  became  directly  and  wholly  responsible  for  the  inter- 
denominational work  done  by  the  Commission.  In  this  case  the 
responsibility  would  have  been  assumed  by  the  general  public.  But 
this  would  have  left  the  interdenominational  work  interdenomina- 
tional in  name  only  and  would  have  made  of  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  disclaimed  responsi- 
bility for  determining  policies,  the  only  really  responsible  agent 
directing  the  Church's  work  along  interdenominational  lines. 

There  was  a  deeper  cause  for  the  failure  of  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement,  and  that  was  the  failure  of  its  leaders  to  antici- 
pate the  psychological  effect  of  the  coming  of  peace.  With  the 
cessation  of  the  long  strain,  there  was  a  sudden  let-down  that 
manifested  itself  in  unexpected  and  disheartening  ways.  Those 
who  had  carried  responsibility  bravely  were  now  eager  to  throw 
it  off.  Those  who  had  thought  only  for  others  now  remembered 
that  charity  begins  at  home.  Two  years  of  self-denial  and  re- 
nunciation were  followed  by  a  feverish  demand  for  excitement  and 
self-indulgence.  The  prevailing  spirit  was  intensified  by  the  temper 
of  the  returning  soldiers.  Surfeited  with  the  discipline  of  camp 
life  and  wearied  with  its  unutterable  monotony,  they  wanted  change 
at  any  cost.  The  thought  of  new  sacrifices  and  abnegations  re- 
volted them. 

Their  attitude  to  the  prohibition  amendment  is  a  case  in  point. 
Even  those  who  cared  nothing  for  drinking  were  indignant  that  a 
question  of  such  national  importance  should  have  been  decided 
while  they  were  away.  They  drank,  not  for  the  sake  of  drinking, 
but  as  an  affirmation  of  personal  liberty.    Their  attitude  toward  this 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  123 

question  was  symptomatic  of  a  spirit  which  showed  itself  in  other 
directions — in  the  extravagance  in  food  and  dress,  in  the  mad 
thirst  for  pleasure,  in  the  breaking  down  of  the  old  standards 
of  restraint  between  the  sexes.  All  these  phenomena  of  after- 
war  psychology  were  natural — we  now  perceive,  inevitable — results 
of  the  situation  in  which  the  country  found  itself. 

This  was  not  the  atmosphere  in  which  to  launch  such  a  move- 
ment as  the  Interchurch.  It  is  easy  to  see  this  now;  but  at  the 
time  no  one  was  wise  enough  to  do  so.  Church  and  country  were 
still  under  the  spell  of  the  past.  Only  gradually  and  by  a  process 
of  disillusionment  as  painful  as  it  was  salutary  did  they  wake 
to  the  realities  of  the  present.  When  they  did  so,  it  was  too  late 
to  correct  the  mistakes  that  had  already  been  made. 

We  have  an  almost  perfect  parallel  in  the  League  of  Nations, 
Here,  too,  an  extraordinary  situation  gave  birth  to  an  extravagant 
hope  which  was  disappointed  because  those  who  entertained  it 
tried  to  crowd  into  a  few  short  months  results  possible  of  attain- 
ment only  through  a  slow  process  of  education  requiring  years, 
if  not  decades.  It  is  clear  that  such  a  situation  presents  dangers 
which  can  be  guarded  against  only  as  they  are  understood. 

3.    Dangers  to  be  Guarded  Against:   (a)   an  Unreasonable  Con- 
demnation of  the  Denominational  Spirit;  (b)  the  Abandon- 
ment of  the  Co-operative  Ideal 

To  one  who  has  lived  through  the  exaltation  of  the  war  en- 
thusiasm, the  revival  of  the  denominational  spirit  which  we  see 
to-day  is  hard  to  bear.^  It  seems  a  deliberate  turning  back  upon 
the  lessons  plainly  taught  us — a  definite  refusal  of  the  oppor- 
tunity unexpectedly  put  in  our  hands.  But  there  is  another  side 
to  the  matter.  The  denominational  revival  which  we  are  wit- 
nessing does  not  necessarily  mean  loss  of  faith  in  the  co-operative 
ideal.  On  the  contrary,  it  may  be  a  step  toward  its  ultimate 
realization. 

Our  war  experience  has  much  to  teach  us  here.  It  was  not 
the  presence  of  highly  efficient  denominational  organizations  which 
proved   the   greatest   obstacle   to    our   successful   co-operation    in 

'For  an  exceptionally  severe  criticism  of  the  denominational  spirit  as 
applied  to  missions,  cf.  McAfee,  "Some  Unchristian  Aspects  of  Christian  Mis- 
sions," Christian  Century,  October  27,  1921. 


124  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  war,  but  their  absence.  For  effective  work  more  is  needed  than 
goodwill.  There  must  be  persons  familiar  with  the  situation  and 
armed  with  ample  power  to  act  for  the  whole.  But  these  were 
lacking  in  more  than  one  important  communion.  It  was  not  the 
denominations  of  Congregational  polity  that  gave  the  most  effective 
help  to  the  General  War-Time  Commission,  but  highly  organized 
churches  like  the  Lutheran,  the  Episcopalian,  and  the  Presbyterian 
— and  if  in  the  case  of  the  Baptists  there  was  a  happy  exception 
to  the  rule,  it  was  because  they  had  themselves  become  convinced 
of  the  weakness  of  their  former  methods  and  had  set  themselves 
resolutely  to  correct  them.^  A  chain  is  only  as  strong  as  its 
weakest  link,  and  if  the  churches  are  to  co-operate  effectively  with 
one  another,  they  must  first  learn  to  co-operate  effectively  within 
themselves. 

This  fact  should  not  blind  us  to  the  dangers  of  the  denomina- 
tional spirit  or  the  fact  that  added  strength  always  carries  with 
it  a  temptation  to  be  indifferent  to  the  needs  of  others.  We  shall 
have  abundant  occasion  to  be  reminded  of  this  as  we  proceed. 
But  it  should  serve  to  guard  us  against  unqualified  condemnation 
of  a  tendency  which  may  well  prove — when  seen  in  its  larger 
perspective — to  have  its  own  contribution  to  make  to  the  progress 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

For  this  reason  the  present  revival  of  denominational  loyalty 
is  not  wholly  to  be  regretted.  Through  the  various  denomina- 
tional movements  which  the  last  two  years  have  brought  into 
being — the  Methodist  Centenary,  the  Presbyterian  New  Era,  the 
Baptist  New  World  Movement,  and  the  others,  new  powers  have 
been  released  and  new  resources  uncovered,  which,  if  rightly 
guided,  are  full  of  promise  for  the  future  of  the  American  Church. 
The  vision  of  a  new  day  has  been  brought  to  many  a  rural  com- 
munity hitherto  untouched  by  the  spirit  of  progress.  Many  a 
weak  church  has  learned  to  its  surprise  that  it  had  money  enough 
and  to  spare.  These  facts  we  must  take  into  account  if  we 
would  estimate  the  real  significance  of  the  Interchurch  World 
Movement.  Its  campaign  for  its  own  funds  may  have  failed  sig- 
nally. But  the  great  totals  rolled  up  for  the  various  denomina- 
tional movements  which  co-operated  in  it  are  the  best  proof  that 

'  Cf .  p.  82. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  125 

its  message  found  a  wider  hearing  than  the  official  returns  would 
lead  one  to  suppose. 

To  return  to  our  parallel  of  the  League  of  Nations.  Here,  too, 
the  apparent  failure  may  prove  less  serious  and  less  complete 
than  at  first  appeared.  The  opposition  to  the  plan  as  first  pro- 
posed did  not  spring  wholly  from  selfish  and  unworthy  motives. 
In  part  it  was  due  to  an  unwillingness  to  commit  to  a  distant 
and  already  over-burdened  body  the  decision  of  questions  which 
could  only  be  rightly  worked  out  with  the  co-operation  of  those 
immediately  concerned.  As  with  churches,  so  with  nations,  only 
the  union  of  the  strong  with  the  strong  produces  strength,  and  for 
the  realization  of  the  great  ideal  which  has  appealed  so  persuasively 
to  the  men  of  our  day— a  league  of  free  peoples  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  world  peace — we  must  first  have  peoples  who  are  free  and 
who  desire  peace. 

For  this  reason  the  present  period  of  hesitation  and  discussion 
is  not  without  its  compensations.  Inquiry  into  the  reason  for  the 
failure  of  the  plan  first  proposed  is  having  an  important  educa- 
tional effect  upon  the  different  nations.  In  our  own  country 
especially  it  is  showing  us  faults  in  our  own  organization  and 
spirit  which  we  must  remedy  if  we  are  ever  to  hope  to  co-operate 
effectively  with  other  peoples  in  international  affairs.  Conversely 
it  is  showing  us  how  impossible  it  is  for  us  to  deal  effectively 
even  with  our  own  domestic  affairs  unless  we  assume  a  right  at- 
titude toward  the  other  peoples  with  whose  destiny  our  own  is 
ever  more  inextricably  interwoven.  As  in  the  Church  the  choice 
is  not  between  denominationalism  and  interdenominationalism  but 
between  the  right  and  the  wrong  kind  of  each,  so  in  the  nation  the 
antithesis  is  not  between  nationalism  and  internationalism  but 
between  the  right  and  the  wrong  type  of  each.  The  more  ear- 
nestly we  seek  our  own  highest  interests,  the  more  inevitably  we 
shall  be  compelled  to  seek  the  interests  of  others  and  vice 
versa. 

The  first  danger  to  be  guarded  against,  then,  is  an  unreason- 
able condenmation  of  the  denominational  spirit.  But  there  is  an- 
other danger  even  greater,  and  that  is  that  in  our  disappointment 
at  immediate  failure  we  may  lose  faith  in  ultimate  victory.  For 
the  Christian  the  one  unpardonable  sin  is  lack  of  faith.     If  the 


126  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

vision  that  we  saw  of  a  united  Church  seemed  to  our  enthusiasm 
nearer  than  the  facts  warrant,  that  does  not  prove  that  it  was 
a  delusion.  What  we  learned  of  man's  deepest  self  in  those  days 
of  exceptional  testing  was  a  true  revelation.  All  that  is  necessary 
is  for  us  to  use  it  in  the  right  way. 

A  year  after  the  war  ended  an  American  visitor  found  his  way  to 
England,  anxious  to  learn  how  the  fiery  trial  of  those  five  years  had 
affected  a  country  to  which  he  owed  much  and  which  he  had  left 
in  the  fall  of  1914,  when  the  war  had  scarcely  begun.  It  was  a 
painful  experience.  Weariness  and  depression  were  everywhere  evi- 
dent. One  looked  in  vain  for  any  large  movement  for  national,  or 
for  international,  reconstruction.  To  the  questions:  "What  are  you 
doing  to  get  ready  for  the  new  day?  What  is  being  planned  to  carry 
out  the  programme  of  the  Archbishop's  commissions?"  ^  this  answer 
was  made:  "You  have  come  too  soon.  We  are  tired  and  need  rest. 
Give  us  another  five  years  and  you  will  find  a  different  situation. 
This  is  not  the  time  to  act,  but  to  think  and  to  plan."  The  longer 
the  visitor  stayed  in  England  and  the  more  he  learned  of  what  was 
really  going  on  in  the  minds  and  the  hearts  of  the  men  and  women 
to  whom  the  future  belongs,  the  more  he  was  convinced  that  this 
answer  was  correct. 

It  is  in  a  similar  spirit  that  we  must  judge  the  present  situa- 
tion in  the  American  Church.  This  is  a  period  for  thought  and 
for  preparation.  What  we  have  learned  about  the  spiritual  re- 
sources of  the  country  and  of  the  Church  we  shall  never  forget. 
But  we  have  not  yet  learned  how  to  make  effective  use  of  the 
resources  we  have  discovered.  For  this  time  is  needed  and  pa- 
tience— the  open  mind  and  the  open  heart.  In  the  meantime  let 
us  do  the  things  that  lie  nearest  at  hand,  the  obvious  and  neces- 
sary things  in  our  parishes  and  in  our  denominations.  They  will 
put  us  just  so  much  farther  forward  when  the  time  comes  for  the 
larger  co-operative  movements  which  so  certainly  lie  ahead. 

^At  the  conclusion  of  the  war  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York 
appointed  a  number  of  commissions  to  study  various  phases  of  the  church's 
post-war  duty  and  to  make  recommendations.  The  most  important  of  these 
dealt  with  such  subjects  as  the  following:  "The  Teaching  Office  of  the 
Church";  "The  Worship  of  the  Church";  "The  Evangelistic  Work  of  the 
Church";  "Administrative  Reform  of  the  Church";  "Christianity  and  In- 
dustrial Problems." 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  127 

4.     The  Present  Condition  and  Prospects  of  the  Protestant 

Ministry 

Before  we  leave  this  preliminary  stage  of  our  discussion  there 
is  one  more  question  which  needs  to  be  raised,  and  that  is  the  ef- 
fect of  the  present  situation  upon  the  men  who  have  the  most  direct 
interest  in  the  success  of  the  Church — its  ministers. 

When  the  war  ended,  there  was  a  very  general  hope  on  the 
part  of  those  who  were  responsible  for  the  leadership  of  the  Church 
that  there  would  be  a  great  accession  to  the  number  of  candidates 
for  the  ministry.  That  expectation  has  not  as  yet  been  realized. 
At  first,  indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  the  tendency  were  the  other  way. 
Many  seminaries  reported  a  falling  off  in  attendance,  and  in  more 
than  one  of  the  larger  communions  it  seemed  as  if  the  question 
of  the  supply  for  the  ministry  might  become  a  serious  one.  Later 
developments  have  been  more  reassuring.^  Taking  the  country 
as  a  whole,  the  number  of  students  entering  the  seminaries  is 
increasing  and  the  reports  as  to  their  quality  are  excellent.  It  is 
too  soon,  however,  to  draw  any  conclusion  from  the  limited  evi- 
dence which  is  available.  In  what  follows  we  shall  ignore  the 
special  influences  which  the  war  has  set  in  motion  and  con- 
sider the  prospects  of  the  ministry  in  the  light  of  the  general  situ- 
ation which  our  previous  study  has  revealed. 

When  we  approach  the  matter  from  this  point  of  view  we  must 
admit  that  there  is  matter  for  disquietude.  Those  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  conditions  in  ministerial  circles  have  observed  a 
certain  restlessness  and  anxiety  on  the  part  of  many  of  their  cleri- 
cal friends.  It  is  not  that  they  are  less  loyal  to  the  cause  to  which 
they  have  given  their  lives  or  less  convinced  of  the  unique  oppor- 
tunity before  the  Christian  ministry.  On  the  contrary,  there  has 
never  been  an  age  when  that  opportunity  was  greater  or  when 
a  more  impressive  appeal  could  be  made  to  young  men  and  women 

*Cf.  the  careful  study  by  0.  D.  Foster,  "Student  Attendance  at  the  Protes- 
tant Theological  Seminaries,"  in  Christian  Education,  December,  1920;  also 
Robert  L.  Kelly,  "The  Rising  Tide  of  Ministerial  Enlistment,"  Christian 
Work,  October  29,  1921.  The  report  of  the  Life  Work  Committee  of  the 
Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Education  at  their  meeting  in  January,  1921, 
shows  a  marked  increase  over  the  preceding  year  in  the  enrollment  in  the 
theological  seminaries  of  practically  all  the  Protestant  denominations. 


128  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

to  enter  the  service  of  the  Church.  But  there  is  a  feeling  that  the 
conditions  under  which  the  rank  and  file  of  ministers  are  working 
are  not  such  as  to  provide  an  adequate  outlet  for  their  best  powers 
and  that  the  profession  as  a  profession  does  not  furnish  that  guar- 
antee of  permanent  employment  which  the  wise  man  naturally 
seeks  in  the  choice  of  his  life  work.  In  the  past  one  of  the 
great  sources  of  supply  for  the  ministry  has  been  the  sons  of 
the  manse,  and  the  manse  is  to-day  the  greatest  single  influence 
in  leading  men  into  the  ministry.  It  is  all  the  more  significant  that 
now  and  again  one  finds  a  minister  shaking  his  head  over  the 
thought  of  his  son's  following  him  in  his  profession  and  raising 
the  question  in  his  own  mind  whether  he  could  not  serve  God 
more  effectively  in  some  other  way. 

This  is  due  in  no  small  part  to  the  increasing  appeal  of  other 
forms  of  life  work.  The  time  when  the  ministry  had  a  prima  facie 
claim  upon  any  man  who  desired  to  lead  an  altruistic  life  is  long 
past.  There  are  many  other  professions  which  open  the  way  to 
an  unselfish  career — medicine,  philanthropy  in  its  various  forms, 
teaching.  Even  business  is  losing  its  exclusive  association  with 
money-getting  and  is  coming  to  be  regarded  in  a  new  light  as  a 
form  of  public  service.  From  a  letter  from  a  young  man  looking 
forward  to  international  banking  as  a  life  work,  I  quote  the  follow- 
ing lines  written  under  the  impulse  of  the  new  contacts  which  service 
in  a  foreign  country  had  brought  about: 

"I  want  to  be  a  force  some  day  in  the  training  and  inspiring  of  our  new 
professional  foreign  banking  class.  I  want  them  to  be  filled  with  the  idea  that 
their  only  excuse  for  existing  is  the  fulfilling  of  a  certain  essential  economic 
function,  considering  themselves  as  servants  of  both  their  own  and  other 
peoples,  and  receiving  compensation  only  in  proportion  'as  the  laborer  is 
worthy  of  his  hire.'  Only  in  this  frame  of  mind  can  they  justify  their  existence 
in  a  socially-minded  world.  They  are  the  real  ambassadors  of  their  country. 
On  them  rests  the  real  development  of  the  country's  foreign  policy.  They 
work  with  the  forces  that  have  caused  wars  to  be  fought,  and  only  by  their 
help  and  the  help  of  other  business  men  can  the  wisest  and  most  lofty  plans 
of  statesmen  be  given  content  and  meaning." 

This  is  typical  of  what  more  than  one  young  man  is  thinking 
to-day  whose  spirit  a  generation  or  even  a  decade  ago  would  have 
led  him  into  the  ministry.    The  labor  movement  is  attracting  not 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  129 

a  few  men  of  this  type.  Graduates  of  theological  seminaries  of 
ripe  intellectual  power  and  thoroughgoing  consecration  are  to-day 
finding  scope  as  labor  leaders  for  the  gifts  which  others  of  their 
fellow-students  are  exercising  in  the  ministry. 

But  quite  apart  from  the  competition  of  other  forms  of  service, 
there  are  conditions  in  the  ministry  itself  which  give  cause  for 
serious  thought.  For  one  thing  the  salary  paid  the  average  min- 
ister is  such  as  to  make  one  wonder  how  it  is  possible  for  him 
to  support  a  family  without  outside  help.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  statistics  which  we  have  already  quoted  show  that  the  63,000 
ministers  who  report  full  salaries  received  on  an  average  less  than 
$1,100  a  year.^  So  striking  are  these  figures  that  defenders  of 
the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  against  the  criticism  of  the 
Interchurch  Report  found  it  a  convenient  retort  to  say,  in  answer 
to  the  contention  that  the  corporation  did  not  pay  a  living  wage, 
that  the  churches  would  do  well  to  raise  their  own  salaries  to  the 
point  which  made  a  decent  living  possible  before  they  undertook 
to  criticize  what  others  were  doing. 

Yet  necessary  as  it  is  to  take  account  of  this  matter  of  sal- 
ary in  estimating  the  present  appeal  of  the  ministry  as  a  life  work, 
it  is  not  the  determining  factor.  The  ministry  has  never  promised 
large  financial  rewards,  and  those  who  are  attracted  to  it  by 
the  opportunity  of  service  it  offers  will  not  be  deterred  by  the 
sacrifices  it  entails.  All  such  men  ask  is  a  living  wage  and  some 
decent  guarantee  for  old  age,  and  the  legitimacy  of  this  request 
is  being  generally  recognized.  Signs  are  not  wanting  that  the 
same  readjustment  of  the  salary  scale  which  we  have  seen  in  the 
teaching  profession  is  taking  place  in  the  ministry,  and  the  at- 
tempt of  the  larger  denominations  to  establish  pension  funds  to 
care  for  the  minister  and  his  family  in  sickness  and  old  age  is 
meeting  with   gratifying   success.^     The  more   influential   pulpits 

'  It  should  be  remembered  that  these  figures,  taken  from  the  United  States 
Census  returns  for  1916,  do  not  furnish  us  with  such  relevant  facts  as  whether 
the  minister  receives  a  manse  as  well  as  a  salary,  nor,  in  the  case  of  ministers 
serving  more  than  one  congregation,  whether  the  salary  represents  the  total 
amount  received  from  all  sources,  or  only  that  paid  by  a  single  congregation. 

On  this  matter  of  ministerial  salary,  cf.  the  statistics  gathered  by  the 
Interchurch  World  Movement,  World  Survey,  American  volume,  pp.  267  sq. 

^The  present  capital  of  the  combined  pension  and  armuity  funds  of  the 
Congregational,  Protestant  Episcopal,  Methodist  Episcopal,  Presbyterian,  and 
Northern  Baptist  churches  already  totals  over  $50,000,000. 


130  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  the  large  denominations  care  generously  for  their  ministers,  and 
the  standard  of  compensation  for  the  ministry  as  a  whole  is  steadily 
rising. 

More  serious  in  its  bearing  upon  the  prospects  of  the  Christian 
ministry  is  the  condition  which  lies  back  of  the  low  salary  which 
the  average  minister  receives.  His  salary  is  small  because  his 
congregation  is  small,  and  his  congregation  is  small  because  there 
are  so  many  churches.  The  spirit  of  individual  initiative  and  in- 
dependence which,  from  one  point  of  view,  has  been  the  strength 
of  the  American  church  here  reveals  its  characteristic  weakness. 
Churches  have  been  planted  all  over  America — Baptist,  Presby- 
terian, Methodist,  as  the  case  may  be,  but  no  one  has  stopped 
to  ask  whether  a  particular  church  was  needed  in  a  particular  place 
or  whether  a  combination  of  forces  would  not  have  made  possible 
a  stronger  and  a  more  effective  appeal.  We  are  to  study  elsewhere 
the  effects  of  this  disastrous  policy,  or  rather  lack  of  policy,  upon 
the  local  church  and  to  consider  what  steps  are  being  taken  to  bring 
about  a  change.^  We  are  now  speaking  of  the  effects  of  the  policy 
upon  the  life  of  the  minister  himself. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  these  have  been  most  unfortunate. 
Conditions  have  been  created  which  have  made  it  difficult  for  a 
man  of  initiative  and  ability  to  find  adequate  scope  for  his  powers 
in  many  of  our  Protestant  churches.  Christian  people  have  been 
accustomed  to  think  of  their  church  as  designed  to  minister  to  their 
own  private  interests  and  needs  rather  than  as  a  part  of  the  great 
spiritual  enterprise  that  has  for  its  purpose  the  bringing  in  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  For  a  small  task  only  a  small  man  is  needed, 
and  the  suspicion  that  the  ministry  as  at  present  organized  offers 
a  man  a  little  job  is  one  of  the  most  serious  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  attracting  strong  men  to  the  profession. 

It  is  not  strange,  then,  that  we  should  find  a  large  part  of  the 
Christian  ministry  recruited  from  men  who  have  not  had  a  col- 
lege or  even  a  seminary  training.  This  is  perhaps  natural  in 
bodies  like  the  Baptist  and  Methodist  which  have  been  doing 
work  on  the  firing-line  and  make  large  use  of  an  itinerant  min- 
istry. But  it  is  true  also  of  churches  which  inherit  a  different 
tradition  and  have  long  prided  themselves  upon  their  high  standard 

*Cf.  Chapter  XI. 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  131 

of  ministerial  education.  Recent  figures  show  that  of  the  present 
Congregational  ministry,  large  numbers  have  not  had  a  college 
education/  and  the  condition  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  not 
dissimilar.  This  is  an  inevitable  result  of  the  unsatisfactory  con- 
dition to  which  reference  has  already  been  made,  and  we  shall 
not  expect  any  great  improvement  in  the  character  of  our  min- 
isterial supply  until  we  alter  the  character  of  the  demand  which 
that  supply  is  designed  to  meet. 

It  is  true  that  there  is  abundant  evidence  on  the  other  side. 
In  every  part  of  the  Church,  in  city  and  in  country,  we  find  con- 
tented and  successful  ministers  proving  by  their  present  experience 
that  the  ministry  to-day  offers  scope  for  the  best  powers  of  the 
strongest  men.  At  no  time  in  its  history  has  the  Church  been 
able  to  offer  the  man  of  independence  and  initiative  a  more  varied 
field  of  service.  At  no  time  has  there  been  a  larger  constituency 
conscious  of  their  need  of  the  kind  of  ministry  that  the  Church 
alone  can  render.  The  fact  remains  that  in  wide  sections  of  the 
country  the  old,  narrow,  self-satisfied  spirit  still  lives  on.  Until 
that  is  banished  we  must  expect  to  find  young  men  who  want 
to  make  their  life  tell  to  the  uttermost  looking  doubtfully  at  the 
Christian  ministry. 

One  more  diSiculty  remains  to  be  named,  in  some  respects 
the  most  perplexing  of  all,  and  that  is  the  insecurity  of  the  min- 
ister's tenure.  Let  us  suppose  a  minister  fairly  started  in  his 
career,  happy  and  successful  in  his  work.  What  guarantee  has 
he  that  this  success  will  continue?  We  have  all  heard  of  the 
ministerial  dead-line,  that  mysterious  line  as  invisible  as  the 
equator  which  separates  the  years  of  a  man's  active  work  from 
the  time  when  he  suddenly  finds  that  his  services  are  no  longer 
in  demand.  There  is  such  a  line  in  other  professions  than  the 
ministry.  In  teaching  it  lies  somewhere  between  sixty-five  and 
seventy.  The  time  when  a  man  becomes  eligible  for  a  Carnegie 
pension  would  be  a  convenient  way  of  indicating  it.  But  in  the 
ministry  this  line  is  determined  by  public  opinion,  and  public 
opinion  has  been  pushing  it  farther  and  farther  back,  until  to-day 

*The  Secretary  of  the  National  Council  of  Congregational  Churches  ex- 
presses the  judgment  based  upon  the  information  at  present  available  that 
"probably  not  more  than  one-half  of  the  Congregational  ministers  in  the 
United  States  are  college  or  seminary  men." 


132  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

we  are  told  that  it  is  nearer  fifty  than  sixty 5  Just  when  a  man 
ought  to  be  reaching  his  ripest  power,  just  when  many  a  man  has 
really  reached  his  ripest  power,  he  finds  himself  pushed  aside 
for  younger  men. 

Two  causes  have  combined  to  produce  this  unfortunate  and, 
let  us  hope,  temporary  state  of  affairs.  The  first  is  the  lack  of  any 
adequate  system  for  locating  ministers;  the  second  the  same  nar- 
row and  individualistic  conception  of  the  Church  to  which  we  have 
already  more  than  once  referred. 

Most  serious  of  all  the  consequences  of  the  decentralizing 
tendency  in  American  Christianity  is  the  lack  of  any  central  au- 
thority which  is  responsible  for  the  placing  of  the  individual  min- 
ister in  the  field  where  he  is  fitted  to  do  his  best  work.  Different 
churches  have  their  committees  on  supply,  some  local,  some  na- 
tional,^  but  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  the  minister  finds 
his  job  by  the  same  hit-or-miss  system  which  has  hitherto  reg- 
ulated employment  in  other  industries.  The  Methodist  Church 
alone,  with  its  system  of  rotation  in  office,  has  been  able  com- 
pletely to  solve  the  difficulty.  In  the  Methodist  Church  there  is  a 
place  for  every  man  and  a  man  for  every  place,  and  some  one  whose 
business  it  is  to  put  the  man  in  the  place.  The  Episcopal  Church 
through  its  diocesan  system  comes  next,  but  the  bishops  are  limited 
in  what  they  can  do  by  the  powers  of  the  local  congregation. 

But  the  lack  of  provision  for  any  central  means  of  placing 
ministers  is  only  the  outward  sign  of  a  deeper  and  more  funda- 
mental cause.  This  is  the  lack  of  a  realizing  sense  of  the  es- 
sential unity  of  the  Church's  work.  The  local  congregation  is 
thought  of  as  an  independent  unit  to  be  managed  by  its  ofl&cers 

*Cf.  the  suggestive  article  in  the  Continent  for  March  2,  1922,  "Why  I 
Have  Lost  Hope,"  by  a  pastor  fifty  years  old. 

^The  most  noteworthy  example  of  the  latter  method  is  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.  which  has  created  a  national  Department  of  Vacancy 
and  Supply  with  its  headquarters  in  Columbus,  Ohio.  From  this  centre  an 
effort  is  being  made  to  create  similar  committees  in  every  synod  and  presby- 
tery, through  which  the  problem  of  locating  ministers  can  be  dealt  with  in  a 
self-respecting  way.  In  the  churches  of  Congregational  polity  little  has  as  yet 
been  done.  A  well-known  Baptist  minister,  being  asked  as  to  the  method 
followed  in  his  own  communion,  answered,  "With  us  it  is  every  man  for  him- 
self and  the  devil  take  the  hindmost."  Light  on  present  conditions  m  the 
Congregational  churches  is  shed  by  a  recent  pamphlet  issued  by  the  Congre- 
gational Educational  Society  entitled,  "American  Congregationalism  and  Our 
Pastorless  Churches,"  192L 


WHERE  THE  WAR  LEFT  THE  CHURCH  133 

on  business  principles  with  the  primary  aim  of  making  both  ends 
meet,  rather  than  as  a  part  of  a  great  spiritual  society  in  which 
each  unit  co-operates  with  the  others  in  work  for  a  common  cause. 
With  such  a  system  we  cannot  but  expect  to  find  waste  in  the 
human  material  with  which  the  system  is  concerned.  There  are 
ways  of  dealing  with  the  problem  of  the  older  man  in  the  min- 
istry just  as  there  are  ways  of  dealing  with  the  older  man  in  other 
walks  of  life,  but  there  is  no  way  which  does  not  require  the  co- 
operation of  all  those  responsible  for  the  Church's  work  in  a  com- 
mon plan  which  covers  the  field  as  a  whole.^ 

We  have  a  suggestion  of  what  may  be  done  in  the  case  of  our 
mission  boards,  both  home  and  foreign.  Here  the  missionary  en- 
terprise is  conceived  as  a  unit  and  each  missionary  is  sent  to  the 
place  in  the  field  for  which  he  is  believed  to  be  best  fitted  and 
transferred  from  place  to  place  as  experience  shows  that  such 
change  is  needed.  More  is  accomplished  by  this  than  a  change  of 
machinery.  A  new  spirit  is  introduced  into  the  entire  enterprise, 
a  sense  of  common  responsibility  and  brotherhood  which  dignifies 
the  work  of  each  individual  who  takes  part  in  it. 

Such  a  conception  of  the  Christian  ministry  is  needed  in  the 
Church  at  large.  The  older  individualism  is  breaking  down  and 
a  new  spirit  is  abroad  in  the  churches,  but  it  has  not  yet  devised 
the  proper  machinery  for  its  expression.  If  in  what  has  thus  far 
been  said  emphasis  has  been  laid  upon  the  weakness  of  our  pres- 
ent system,  this  is  not  due  to  any  lack  of  confidence  in  the  future 
of  the  ministry  or  doubt  that  to-day,  as  in  every  past  age,  the 
ministry  offers  the  man  of  ability  and  consecration  the  finest  of 
all  fields  of  service,  but  rather  to  call  attention  to  the  great- 
ness of  the  issues  at  stake  and  to  reinforce  those  influences  in  the 
Church  which  are  working  for  a  better  day.  What  these  influences 
are  we  shall  consider  in  the  chapters  that  follow. 

^  One  of  the  finest  pieces  of  work  done  in  the  war  was  done  by  a  Presby- 
terian minister  over  sixty  years  of  age,  who  entered  one  of  the  large  industrial 
establishments  in  a  Western  city  as  welfare  worker.  Through  his  tact  and 
resourcefulness  he  so  altered  the  morale  of  the  workers  that  the  output  of  the 
plant  more  than  doubled.  Yet  this  same  man  had  been  seeking  a  church  in 
vain  for  years. 


PART  III 

DEFINING  THE  IDEAL 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  OLD  RELIGION  IN   THE  NEW  INTELLECTUAL  ENVIRONMENT* 

1.    Principles  which  Determine  Our  Ideal  for  the  Church 

Thus  far  we  have  been  giving  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  situa- 
tion before  the  Church.  We  have  described  that  situation  as  it 
meets  us  in  the  life  of  the  individual  Christian,  in  the  country  as 
a  whole,  and  in  the  world  at  large.  We  have  seen  a  number  of 
independent  and  conflicting  factors  operating,  some  old,  some  new, 
presenting  baffling  problems  in  the  field  of  education,  of  politics, 
of  social  and  industrial  reform.  But  there  is  one  problem  which 
is  more  important  and  more  perplexing  than  all  the  rest,  and  that 
is  the  nature  of  the  Church  itself.  What  exactly  is  the  function 
of  the  Church  in  human  society  and  what  must  it  become  if 
it  is  to  realize  the  divine  ideal?  Interesting  as  it  is  to  learn  what 
the  churches  have  been  doing  in  the  last  dozen  years,  it  is  still 
more  important  to  know  what  they  have  been  thinking;  for  upon 
the  clear  conception  of  an  ideal  depends  in  no  small  measure  the 
ability  to  realize  it. 

There  is  no  ready-made  source  of  such  information.  Unlike 
Roman  Catholicism,  Protestantism  has  no  official  spokesman  to 
define  the  Church's  ideal.  That  ideal  shapes  itself  little  by  little 
in  the  minds  of  multitudes  of  men,  but  few  formulate  their  con- 
clusions in  clear  and  concise  form.  We  must  glean  our  informa- 
tion here  and  there  from  the  books  of  individuals  and  of  social 
groups,  from  the  action  of  official  bodies  in  times  of  crisis  or 
responsibility,  from  the  press,  religious  and  secular;  above  all,  from 
the  trend  of  events  which  express  more  accurately  than  words 
can  do  the  unconscious  faith  of  men.  We  must  be  on  our  guard 
against  the  ghosts  of  which  we  have  said  that  history  is  full — 
ideas  and  movements  which  have  had  their  day  but  still  maintain 
the  semblance  of  life.     Especially  important  for  our  purpose  are 

*Cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  "The  Old  Theology  and  the  New,"  The  Harvard 
Theological  Review,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  1-24. 

137 


138  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  tendencies  which  appear  in  student  circles  and  in  groups  of 
thinking  men,  old  and  young.  These,  too,  we  must  use  with  cau- 
tion, remembering  that  permanence  is  the  one  sure  test  of  truth 
and  correcting  present  impressions  by  the  longer  look. 

Some  truths  we  may  take  for  granted  as  having  been  confirmed 
by  the  experience  of  the  past  few  years:  first,  that  the  primary 
concern  of  the  Church  is  with  religion;  secondly,  that  the  mission 
of  the  Christian  Church  is  to  interpret  and  to  illustrate  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Christian  religion,  and  to  win  men  everywhere  to 
allegiance  to  Jesus;  thirdly,  that  it  is  the  special  responsibility  of 
the  Protestant  churches  to  guard  what  has  been  won  by  the 
Protestant  emphasis  upon  freedom,  and  to  work  out  appropriate 
forms  in  which  freedom  may  express  itself  in  unity. 

It  seems  elementary  to  say  that  the  primary  concern  of  the 
Church  is  with  religion.  But  it  is  none  the  less  necessary  to  do  so. 
The  Church  exists  to  remind  men  of  the  fact  of  God  and  to  help 
them  to  realize  their  personal  relation  to  Him.  Many  other  ac- 
tivities it  shares  with  other  institutions.  Worship  is  its  specialty. 
But  there  are  various  forms  of  religion,  and  each  has  its  own 
church.  The  mission  of  the  Christian  Church  is  to  witness  to  the 
revelation  which  God  has  made  of  Himself  through  Jesus  Christ. 
This  carries  with  it  a  distinct  philosophy  of  life  and  a  correspond- 
ing view  of  human  duty  and  destiny.  The  Christian  believes  that 
there  is  one  God  who  is  all  men's  Father,  who  cares  for  their 
welfare  and  seeks  their  salvation,  one  Master  who  came  to  save 
the  world  and  who  has  given  in  His  own  person  the  supreme 
demonstration  of  self-sacrificing  love,  one  Spirit  who  pleads  with 
men  to  be  reconciled  with  God,  to  accept  His  forgiveness,  and 
to  take  as  their  standard  of  conduct  and  service  the  example  of 
Jesus. 

This  gives  the  Christian  religion  a  point  of  contact  with  the 
wider  human  problems  of  which  we  have  been  speaking.  They 
are  not  irrelevant  to  the  main  business  of  the  Church,  which  is  to 
be  a  witness  to  God.  For  God  as  revealed  by  Christ  is  interested 
in  men,  cares  for  their  welfare,  and  wishes  His  human  children 
to  share  His  redemptive  purpose. 

The  Christian  therefore  knows  that  the  mission  of  the  Church 
must  be  as  broad  as  humanity.  He  has  learned  from  his  Master 
that  each  human  individual  is  a  child  of  God  and  a  potential 


THE  NEW  INTELLECTUAL  ENVIRONMENT  139 

member  of  his  Kingdom.  Difference  of  nationality,  race,  or  class 
must  therefore  be  included  within  a  larger  unity.  Because  Christ 
broke  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition  between  Jew  and  Gentile 
and  offered  salvation  freely  to  men  of  every  race,  the  Church  must 
be  a  brotherhood  as  wide  as  mankind. 

This  sets  the  Christian  Church  its  distinctive  task,  which  is  not 
only  to  satisfy  our  need  of  worship  but  also  to  put  before  men 
the  character  of  the  God  who  is  to  be  worshipped,  and  the  life 
He  requires  of  His  worshippers.  This  the  Church  must  do  as  Jesus 
did,  by  making  a  direct  appeal  to  the  conscience  of  each  in- 
dividual. There  is  no  wholesale  way  of  saving  men.  Each  must 
face  the  supreme  issues  for  himself  and  decide  accordingly.  Through 
all  the  chords  of  the  Social  Gospel  should  run  the  deep  under- 
tone of  personal  religion. 

One  further  conclusion  we  may  presuppose,  and  that  is  the 
importance  of  conserving  the  gains  won  for  mankind  by  the 
Protestant  Reformation  through  its  emphasis  upon  freedom.  This 
follows  from  what  we  have  already  said  of  the  importance  of  the 
individual.  Without  liberty  you  cannot  realize  Jesus'  ideal  for 
humanity.  In  His  Church  therefore  free  assent  must  furnish  the 
bond  of  union. 

It  is  true  that  the  religious  liberty  we  enjoy  has  been  bought 
at  a  heavy  price.  The  Reformers,  to  attain  their  chief  end,  tem- 
porarily sacrificed  values  in  the  older  religion  which  must  be  re- 
covered for  the  Church  of  the  future.  Abuses  have  resulted  from 
our  over-emphasis  upon  freedom,  with  a  resulting  depreciation  of 
institutional  religion.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  comment 
on  the  weaknesses  of  our  American  Christianity,  its  individualism, 
its  provincialism,  its  denominationalism.  But  when  all  is  said, 
the  Reformation  represented  a  great  step  forward  in  human  his- 
tory. It  was  the  counterpart  in  religion  of  the  movement  which 
in  politics  we  call  democracy;  at  least  it  was  the  first  step  toward 
such  a  movement.  To  attempt  to  ignore  it  or  to  belittle  it  is  futile, 
most  of  all  in  a  democratic  society  like  our  own.  Our  way  lies  for- 
ward, not  back,  and  this  is  true  for  those  who  are  most  conscious 
of  the  value  of  our  Catholic  inheritance. 

But  if  we  go  forward  along  the  path  of  freedom  we  must  not 
forget  that  the  goal  to  which  it  leads  is  unity.  Our  fathers  gave 
us  a  principle  and  a  method.     They  would  have  been  the  last 


140  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

to  claim  finality  for  the  application  of  it.  In  the  interest  of  lib- 
erty they  sacrificed  unity.  It  is  equally  true  (as  we  shall  see 
when  we  come  closer  to  denominationalism)  that  in  their  desire  for 
unity  they  were  not  willing  to  grant  to  others  the  liberty  they 
claimed  for  themselves.  We  must  achieve  a  Church  which  makes 
room  both  for  liberty  and  for  unity. 

This,  then,  is  the  task  of  the  American  Church  to-day:  to  ex- 
press in  forms  adapted  to  our  modern  democratic  society  that  type 
of  Christian  faith  and  experience  which  has  proved  its  validity 
by  the  supreme  test  which  democracy  recognizes — the  test  of  free 
experiment  co-operatively  undertaken. 

But  is  this  possible?  Can  the  old  religion  still  maintain  itself 
under  the  strain  of  the  new  conditions?  Can  it  sustain  the  the- 
oretical test  of  the  intellectual  movement  which  we  call  modern 
science?  Can  it  meet  the  practical  test  of  the  social  and  economic 
movement  which  we  call  industrialism,  with  its  political  counter- 
part in  the  rivalry  of  races  and  of  nations  for  prestige  and  for 
power?  To  ask  these  questions  is  to  raise  the  whole  question  of 
the  relation  of  church  and  state,  with  the  deeper  question  still 
to  which  it  points  back,  the  question  of  the  relation  of  institutions 
to  the  spiritual  life  they  express  and  foster. 

2.    Effect  of  the  Scientific  Movement  upon  the  Ideals  of  the  Older 

Protestantism 

We  begin  with  the  intellectual  test;  the  problem  presented  to 
the  Christian  Church  by  that  complex  of  new  influences  and  ideas 
which  we  sum  up  under  the  name  of  modem  science.  Science  forces 
Christian  people  to  re-examine  the  reasons  for  their  beliefs  and  to 
test  the  process  by  which  they  have  arrived  at  them.  It  substitutes 
for  the  atmosphere  of  unquestioning  trust,  the  spirit  of  critical 
inquiry,  and  with  the  substitution  raises  a  host  of  detailed  questions 
which  demand  an  answer. 

While  it  is  not  easy  to  over-emphasize  the  importance  of  the 
issues  raised  by  modern  science  for  the  Church,  it  is  well  to  re- 
member that  the  number  of  persons  directly  and  consciously  af- 
fected by  them  is  less  than  we  are  apt  to  suppose.  Those  who 
move  in  the  academic  atmosphere  of  our  colleges  and  schools 
find  it  difficult  to  realize  how  slowly  ideas  move,  and  what  vast 
sections  of  our  population  still  live  their  lives  and  think  their 


THE  NEW  INTELLECTUAL  ENVIRONMENT  141 

thoughts  as  if  Galileo  had  never  lived  nor  Darwin  written.^  For 
most  people,  science  affects  religion  indirectly  through  the  changes 
which  it  produces  in  social  organization,  rather  than  through  any 
immediate  alteration  in  the  form  of  their  beliefs.  Still,  even  in 
the  latter  sphere,  the  influence  of  science  upon  religion  has  been 
far-reaching,  and  no  attempt  to  define  the  ideal  of  the  modern 
Church  would  be  complete  which  did  not  take  it  into  account. 

There  are  two  ways  in  which  modern  science  has  affected  the 
task  of  the  Church.  It  has  affected  it  as  pure  science  by  its  chal- 
lenge of  the  assumptions  on  which  the  older  theology  was  based. 
It  has  affected  it  even  more  profoundly  as  applied  science  by  the 
changes  which  it  has  brought  about  in  the  external  environment 
in  which  the  Church  must  work. 

To  begin  with  the  former,  the  effect  of  the  modern  scientific 
spirit  upon  the  assumptions  upon  which  the  older  theology  is  based. 
From  the  beginning  of  Christian  history  we  find  Christian  teachers 
attaching  immense  importance  to  right  thinking  in  religion;  and 
this  emphasis  is  justified  by  the  close  relation  between  belief  and 
conduct.  Our  beliefs  are  important,  in  the  first  place,  because  they 
define  our  aims.  They  are  important,  in  the  second  place,  because 
they  reinforce  our  motives.  This  is  especially  true  of  a  religion 
like  Christianity,  which  professes  to  bring  a  definite  Gospel  and 
is  committed  to  a  world-wide  missionary  enterprise.  It  is  clear 
that  whatever  weakens  faith  in  the  correctness  of  the  premises  on 
which  the  enterprise  is  based  must  weaken  the  motives  which 
lead  its  adherents  to  engage  in  it. 

This  intellectual  interest,  implicit  in  the  very  nature  of  Chris- 
tianity, was  powerfully  reinforced  by  Protestantism.  The  Re- 
formers rejected  external  authority  and  substituted  individual  con- 
viction as  the  true  bond  of  union  between  believers.  They  re- 
covered the  Bible  from  the  obscurity  to  which  the  mediaeval  church 
had  relegated  it,  and  urged  each  believer  to  study  it  for  himself. 
They  were  convinced  that  the  central  verities  of  Christian  faith 
were  so  self-evident  that  it  needed  only  contact  with  them  to 
bring  conviction;  and  they  laid  on  the  conscience  of  the  believer 
the  duty  of  that  first-hand  study  of  God's  word  which  would  give 
him  an  intelligent  comprehension  of  its  message. 

*  Mr.  Bryan's  recent  campaign  against  the  teaching  of  evolution  in  our 
tax-supported  institutions  has  brought  unexpected  confirmation  of  this  fact. 


142  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

So  long  as  they  were  content  to  confine  their  emphasis  to 
the  central  truths  of  salvation,  this  attitude  was  largely  justified. 
The  Reformation  produced  a  group  of  Christians  who  to  a  re- 
markable degree  knew  what  they  believed  and  why.  But  as  time 
went  on  and  the  adherents  of  the  new  way  of  thinking  increased, 
differences  began  to  appear.  It  became  necessary  to  define  the 
Church's  position  not  simply  with  reference  to  the  central  verities  of 
the  Christian  experience,  but  on  matters  of  organization  and  gov- 
ernment which  were  in  controversy  between  the  Reformers  and 
the  Church  of  Rome.  So  Protestantism  in  its  turn  began  to  produce 
its  written  creeds  which  multiplied  until  they  became  a  formidable 
library.  Orthodoxy  in  the  sense  of  uniformity  of  belief  was  insisted 
on;  not  for  its  own  sake  indeed  (the  most  rigid  Protestants  never 
did  this)  but  because  it  was  believed  to  be  the  natural  expression  of 
that  saving  faith  to  which  it  was  the  Christian's  supreme  duty  and 
privilege  to  bear  witness. 

It  is  evident  that  to  one  trained  to  think  of  faith  in  this  way 
the  application  of  the  methods  of  modern  science  to  religion  must 
present  difficult  problems.  It  is  not  so  much  the  actual  changes 
of  belief  which  are  disturbing  (though  these  are  serious  enough), 
but  the  change  in  temper  of  mind  and  in  attitude  of  spirit.  One 
of  the  most  obvious  effects  of  the  scientific  spirit  has  been  to 
weaken  the  unquestioning  acceptance  of  the  authority  of  the  Bible 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  one  of  the  characteristic  features  of 
the  older  orthodoxy.  This  has  not  been  confined  to  those  who  have 
definitely  accepted  the  modern  point  of  view.  It  is  equally  notice- 
able in  the  case  of  many  who  in  theory  reject  it.  It  is  not  that 
they  have  ceased  to  believe  what  they  believed  before,  but  that 
the  grounds  on  which  they  justify  their  belief  have  insensibly 
shifted.  Where  their  fathers  were  content  to  rely  upon  the  letter 
of  Scripture,  they  welcome  analogies  derived  from  present-day 
experience,  and  when  they  speak  of  miracles  they  explain  them 
as  instances  of  the  operation  of  a  higher  law  not  yet  perfectly 
understood. 

If  this  is  true  of  those  who  look  upon  the  new  movement  with 
suspicion,  or  at  least  with  indifference,  the  results  upon  those  who 
accept  its  conclusions  con  amore  have  been  far  more  revolution- 
ary. The  new  point  of  view  when  applied  to  religion  has  yielded 
changes  as  great  as  those  in  other  realms  of  human  knowledge. 


THE  NEW  INTELLECTUAL  ENVIRONMENT  143 

The  Bible  has  been  restudied  as  a  human  book,  as  the  literature  of 
a  nation  slowly  ripening  through  centuries  of  experience.  The  his- 
tory of  the  Christian  Church  has  been  rewritten.  The  creeds, 
the  theologies,  the  institutions  of  the  Church  have  all  been  subjected 
to  critical  analysis  and  presented  in  new  and  constantly  changing 
perspective. 

One  whose  youth  was  spent  under  the  influence  of  this  move- 
ment can  remember  the  extraordinary  interest  and  enthusiasm 
which  it  called  forth.  Criticism  was  studied  as  if  it  were  a  new 
Gospel,  and  the  discovery  that  there  were  two  Isaiahs,  and  that 
David  did  not  write  many  of  the  psalms  that  bear  his  name,  was 
welcomed  as  if  it  were  a  message  of  salvation  to  the  people.  Can- 
didates came  before  examining  committees  in  the  mood  of  martyrs 
anticipating  execution,  and  the  trial  of  Dr.  Briggs  for  heresy  by 
the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  occupied  scarcely  less  space 
in  the  daily  press  than  was  recently  given  to  the  battle  between 
Carpentier  and  Dempsey  for  the  championship  of  the  prize  ring. 

To-day  we  have  discovered  the  limitations  of  criticism.  After 
all,  what  does  it  matter  whether  there  was  one  Isaiah  or  seven, 
whether  the  Bible  occupied  a  thousand  years  in  its  writing  or  only 
a  few  hundred?  What  matters  to  us  is  the  content  of  its  teaching. 
What  has  it  to  say  about  God,  man,  and  immortality?  Is  its  wit- 
ness on  these  subjects  still  credible?  Whatever  Jesus  Christ  may 
have  said  or  done  in  detail,  has  He  a  message  which  is  still  valid 
for  us?  Is  he  still  to  us  Master,  Saviour?  Can  we  still  see  in  Him 
the  eternal  God  expressing  Himself  in  human  form? 

So  theology  passes  into  a  new  phase.  Criticism  is  replaced 
by  construction,  science  by  philosophy.  Beneath  the  differences 
in  interpretation  we  detect  permanent  similarities  of  interest  and 
our  attempt  now  is  to  bring  these  to  expression.  The  new  theology 
— at  first  intent  upon  emphasizing  its  contrast  to  the  old — is  to- 
day interested  in  establishing  its  continuity  with  the  past;  in 
pointing  out  how,  under  new  names,  the  old  convictions  survive, 
and  the  old  faith  is  still  confessed. 

This  change  of  attitude  is  made  easier  because  of  the  central 
place  held  by  religious  experience  in  the  theory  of  the  older  Prot- 
estantism. Faith  to  our  fathers  was  not  blind  belief.  It  was  the 
response  of  the  soul  to  a  revelation  of  the  personal  God  conveyed, 
indeed,  through  exlernal  means,  but  manifesting  itself  in  present 


144  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

experience.  Their  interest  in  having  men  think  alike  was  due 
to  their  conviction  that  uniformity  of  belief  was  the  natural  ac- 
companiment of  similarity  of  religious  experience,  but  their  con- 
cern was  not  for  the  belief  as  such,  but  for  the  experience  it 
evidenced.  So  the  new  theology  with  its  strong  emphasis  upon 
the  primary  importance  of  experience  for  belief  finds  a  natural 
point  of  contact  with  the  old. 

3.    Negative   Results — Disillusionment  Resulting  from   the  Dis- 
covery of  the  Limitations  of  Pure  Science — Different 
Effects  of  This  upon  Different  Groups 

Paralleling  the  new  constructive  interest  in  theology  we  find  a 
clearer  perception  of  the  limitations  of  science.  There  was  a  time, 
not  so  long  ago,  when  there  seemed  no  limits  to  what  men  expected 
from  science.  It  was  hailed  as  the  great  deliverer,  making  possible 
by  its  inventions  a  better  life  for  all  the  peoples  of  the  world. 
"Only  let  us  know  enough,"  men  said,  "and  all  will  be  well." 
Comte  and  Spencer  were  the  prophets  of  the  new  Gospel.  They 
urged  us  to  put  away  theology  and  metaphysics  and  to  get  back 
to  the  facts  of  life.  Let  man  reverence  Mother  Nature  and 
master  her  laws  and  a  new  era  would  dawn  for  humanity. 

But  to-day  we  are  not  so  confident.  What  science  has  given 
us,  as  we  now  see,  is  an  opportunity,  but  what  we  do  with  it 
depends  upon  ourselves.  Power  by  itself  is  morally  neutral.  It 
may  be  used  either  for  good  or  for  evil.  Science,  which  is  only 
another  name  for  knowledge,  is  power.  Many  questions  it  can 
answer  for  us.  Undreamed-of  resources  it  puts  at  our  disposal. 
But  when  we  turn  to  it  for  help  in  the  great  issues  which  divide 
the  modern  world  it  fails  us.  Only  conscience  can  help  us  here. 
Henry  Adams,  in  that  remarkable  work  in  which  in  so  masterly 
a  way  he  interprets  to  us  the  deeper  experience  of  the  last  gen- 
eration,^ has  given  expression  in  classical  form  to  this  mood  of 
disillusionment. 

This  mood,  already  in  evidence  in  many  quarters,  has  been 

*"The  Education  of  Henry  Adams,"  1918,  cf.  esp.  pp.  486  sq.  "The  idea 
that  new  force  must  be  in  itself  a  good  is  only  an  animal  or  vegetable  in- 
stinct. As  Nature  developed  her  hidden  energies  they  tended  to  become  de- 
structive. Thought  itself  became  tortured,  suffering  reluctantly,  impatiently, 
painfully,  the  coercion  of  new  methods." 


THE  NEW  INTELLECTUAL  ENVIRONMENT  145 

powerfully  reinforced  by  the  war.  The  war  has  revealed  to  us 
the  gigantic  power  for  evil  which  science  has  put  into  the  hands 
of  modern  man.  A  gun  that  can  shoot  seventy  miles,  a  boat  that 
can  navigate  under  the  sea,  an  airplane  that  can  fly  a  hundred 
miles  an  hour  and  carry  poison  gas  enough  to  annihilate  in  a 
few  hours  a  city  full  of  men — these  are  some  of  the  gifts  that 
modern  science  has  given  us;  these  are  some  of  the  powers  that  it 
has  put  into  our  hands.^  What  has  the  Church  to  say  to  such  an 
ally?  In  what  spirit  shall  it  meet  the  bringer  of  these  perilous 
gifts? 

Some  Christians  find  that  this  revelation  of  the  destructive 
power  of  modern  science  reinforces  their  conviction  of  its  es- 
sentially irreligious  character.  In  the  practical  effects  of  modern 
science,  even  more  than  in  its  theoretical  affirmations,  they  see 
the  natural  result  of  infidelity.  To  them  the  remedy  is  a  yet  more 
rigid  orthodoxy.  Still  sharper  must  the  line  be  drawn  between 
reason  and  revelation,  humanitarianism  and  Christianity,  the  devil 
and  God.  In  the  spirit  of  the  modern  age  they  see  Antichrist 
at  work  and  science  as  his  tool.  The  premillenarian  has  no  hope 
for  the  world  through  any  human  instrumentality.  He  believes 
that  the  world  must  grow  steadily  worse  until  the  great  salvation 
of  the  last  day  when  Chrisl^the  number  of  His  elect  made  up 
— shall  descend  in  bodily  presence  to  establish  His  kingdom  on 
earth  .2 

*  For  a  convenient  summary  of  this  aspect  of  the  situation  cf.  Irwin,  "The 
Next  War,"  New  York,  1921 

^At  the  present  time  the  churches  in  America  are  witnessing  a  revival  of 
this  militant  premillenarianism.  Appealing  to  the  despondency  and  disillu- 
sionment caused  by  the  Great  War,  its  advocates  challenge  the  entire  concep- 
tion of  Christianity  as  a  Gospel  of  social  salvation  and  declare  the  present 
order  doomed  to  destruction  both  in  church  and  state.  They  regard  every 
attempt  to  redeem  the  present  institutions  of  society  as  a  form  of  apostasy 
and  look  for  the  speedy  advent  of  Jesus  Christ  to  establish  His  personal  reign 
on  the  earth.  With  this  belief  in  the  literal  fulfilment  of  Biblical  prophecy 
they  combine  a  distrust  of  the  methods  of  science  all  along  the  line.  They 
maintain  schools  in  which  many  hundreds  of  pupils  are  being  trained  in  this 
literalistic  interpretation  of  the  Bible  (e.g.,  the  Bible  Institutes  at  Chicago  and 
Los  Angeles),  and  by  organized  propaganda  in.this  country  and  on  the  mission 
field  are  trying  to  drive  from  the  Church  all  who  do  not  agree  with  them.  This 
propaganda  is  especially  active  at  the  present  time  in  the  Northern  Baptist 
Church  (cf.  the  literature  of  the  so-called  Fundamentalists),  but  it  is  felt 
also  in  other  churches.  On  the  mission  field,  notably  in  China,  it  is  a  power- 
ful and  disturbing  factor. 


146  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Others  receive  solace  by  means  of  the  mystical  element  in  re- 
ligion. The  destructive  criticism  of  science  has  strengthened  those 
churches  which  make  the  institution  the  bond  of  union  rather 
than  the  creed.  Such  a  church  as  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
for  example,  which  makes  the  sacrament  the  centre  of  religious 
worship,  is  less  affected  by  the  challenge  of  modern  science  than 
churches  like  the  Presbyterian  and  the  Congregational,  which  have 
always  made  much  of  doctrine.  There  is  a  symbolic  element 
in  the  institution  which  appeals  to  feeling  rather  than  reason,  and 
which  is  therefore  better  able  to  stand  the  strain  produced  by  the 
conflict  of  ideas. 

A  third  way  of  meeting  the  difficulty  is  found  by  those  who 
would  substitute  conduct  for  belief  as  the  basis  of  Christian  unity. 
An  organization  like  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  for 
example,  which  makes  practical  ministry  its  primary  object  and 
leaves  to  the  churches  to  which  its  constituent  members  belong 
the  responsibility  for  settling  the  vexed  questions  which  the  mod- 
em scientific  movement  has  raised,  finds  many  to  respond  to  its 
appeal.  In  such  work  as  the  Association  is  doing  for  boys  and 
young  men  is  found  an  occupation  which  leaves  little  time  for 
speculation.  In  this  the  Association  is  only  giving  clear  expression 
to  a  tendency  widespread  in  all  the  churches.  If  science  puts  into 
our  hands  undreamed-of  powers,  let  us  see  that  we  use  them  rightly. 
If  some  men  use  them  for  evil,  that  is  all  the  more  reason  why 
we  should  use  them  for  good. 

One  noticeable  effect  of  the  new  situation  for  which  we  may 
be  thankful  is  the  breaking  down  of  the  arbitrary  and  artificial 
divisions  which  have  separated  Christians,  and  the  creation  of  a 
new  understanding  between  many  who  have  hitherto  held  aloof 
from  one  another.  We  are  learning  that  we  can  agree  even  while 
we  differ,  provided  only  that  the  things  in  which  we  agree  are 
more  important  than  the  things  in  which  we  differ.  A  dozen 
years  ago  historians  and  critics  could  work  together,  but  there 
was  a  deep-rooted  suspicion  that  the  only  way  to  keep  theologians 
at  peace  was  to  keep  them  apart.  We  have  found  out  our  mis- 
take. Every  year  groups  of  theological  teachers  meet  for  con- 
ference in  their  theological  clubs  and  societies,  and  every  two 
years  representatives  of  the  leading  theological  seminaries  spend 


THE  NEW  INTELLECTUAL  ENVIRONMENT  147 

three  days  together  in  helpful  discussion  of  their  common  problems 
and  tasks. 

As  a  result  we  see  the  formation  of  new  alignments  correspond- 
ing more  exactly  to  the  real  differences  between  men.  Such  is 
the  difference  between  liberals  and  conservatives;  the  difference 
between  those  who  believe  in  a  thorough  education  for  religious 
teachers  and  those  who  do  not;  above  all,  the  difference  between 
those  who  believe  in  a  spiritual  conception  of  the  world  and  those 
who  do  not.  In  this  new  atmosphere  of  mutual  understanding 
and  sympathy  it  is  possible  to  approach  with  greater  hope  of  a 
successful  result  those  more  difficult  and  perplexing  questions  of 
definition  which  will   later  present  themselves  to  us. 

4.    Positive  Results — the  Contribution  of  the  Scientific  Movement 
to  Religious  Faith  ^ 

But  the  effects  of  the  modem  scientific  movement  upon  re- 
ligion have  not  been  simply  negative.  In  positive  ways  also  sci- 
ence has  a  contribution  to  make  to  religious  faith. 

For  one  thing  the  scientific  approach  to  the  study  of  religion 
is  bringing  new  evidence  to  confirm  the  immemorial  Christian  con- 
tention that  religion  is  a  permanent  human  interest,  not  to  be 
ignored  or  denied.  As  long  as  men  believed  that  religion  came 
to  man  from  without,  as  a  revelation  from  a  world  otherwise 
inaccessible  to  human  reason,  it  might  be  possible  to  ignore  it. 
But  if  man  is  religious  by  nature,  one  cannot  be  indifferent  to 
what  science  may  have  to  tell  us  of  what  religion  has  meant  to 
man  in  the  past  and  what  it  may  do  for  him  in  the  future. 

Again,  the  scientific  study  of  religion  is  making  clear  the 
experimental  basis  of  our  faith  in  God.  We  see  that  the  argu- 
ments we  give  to  justify  our  belief  are  arguments  after  the  fact. 
We  must  find  God  in  our  experience  before  we  can  reason  about 
Him.  Our  arguments  are  only  ways  in  which  we  translate  into 
logical  form  what  John  Caird  has  well  called  "the  unconscious 
logic  of  religion."  ^    They  remind  us  of  the  way  in  which  we  came 

*Cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  "Modern  Theology  and  the  Preaching  of  the  Gos- 
pel," New  York,  1914. 

'  "An  Introduction  to  the  Philosophy  of  Religion,"  p.  133,  New  York,  1880. 
Cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  "Why  I  Believe  in  God,"  Biblical  World,  September, 
1920. 


148  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

to  believe  in  God.  Or  rather,  it  should  be  said,  the  different  ways. 
For  while  one  man  rises  from  nature  to  God,  another  turns  within 
and  finds  Him  in  the  still  small  voice  of  conscience.  To  one  man 
God  speaks  in  solitude,  and  to  another  in  the  majestic  appeal  of 
some  ancient  institution.  Personal  need  opens  the  door  of  religion 
to  one,  while  the  opportunity  of  service  speaks  to  another  the 
enfranchising  word.  William  James  showed  himself  a  true  man  of 
science  as  well  as  a  religious  believer  when  he  chose  for  the  subject 
of  his  Gifford  lecture  "The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience."  ^ 

This  reference  to  the  varieties  of  religious  experience  calls  atten- 
tion to  another  important  contribution  which  modern  science  has 
been  making  to  our  knowledge  of  religion.  It  helps  us  to  distinguish 
between  religion  as  a  permanent  and  universal  human  interest 
and  the  different  forms  in  which  from  time  to  time  it  manifests 
itself.  The  study  of  comparative  religion  shows  us  how  much  all 
the  greater  religions  have  in  conmion,  how  marked  the  contrast 
between  the  religious  view  of  the  world  with  its  faith  in  meaning 
and  goodness  at  the  core  of  things  and  all  philosophies  that  are 
atheistic  and  materialistic.  Thus  science  works  against  denomina- 
tionalism  and  in  favor  of  a  catholic  and  unifying  faith. 

But  at  the  same  time  science  shows  us  that  there  are  perma- 
nent differences  in  the  types  of  the  religious  experience  and  so 
gives  denominationalism  a  relative  justification.  The  difference 
between  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  types  of  experience  is  a  perma- 
nent difference,  found  in  other  religions  besides  the  Christian,  and 
mysticism,  with  its  introspective  and  self-centred  faith,  is  a  very 
different  thing  from  the  practical  religion  of  good  works  illustrated 
by  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  of  James.  By  calling  attention  to  such 
facts,  modern  science  is  forcing  Christians  to  find  a  bond  of  union 
which  at  once  underlies  and  transcends  these  differences  and  which 
expresses  the  distinctive  character  of  Christianity  in  contrast  to 
other  religions,  which,  like  it,  are  divided  within  themselves. 

This  unifying  principle  is  found  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  founder  of 
the  Christian  religion  and  the  one  whom  all  Christians  agree  in 
taking  as  their  Master,  their  Saviour,  and  their  Example.  In 
Christ  we  find  the  vitalizing  principle  of  Christian  theology,  the 
bond  of  union  between  those  who  in  all  else  are  separate,  the  figure 

*  New  York,  1902. 


THE  NEW  INTELLECTUAL  ENVIRONMENT  149 

at  once  human  and  divine,  who  gives  us  at  the  same  time  our 
supreme  revelation  of  God,  our  highest  ideal  for  man,  and  our 
leader  in  the  effort  to  realize  this  ideal  in  the  life  of  individuals 
and  of  society. 

This  rediscovery  of  Jesus  carries  with  it  a  new  emphasis  upon 
the  Kingdom  of  God  as  the  social  ideal  which  Jesus  is  seeking  to 
realize  in  the  world.  We  have  seen  how  this  ideal  is  being  forced 
upon  us  by  other  influences  growing  out  of  the  practical  needs 
of  the  time.  The  new  theology  reinforces  this  emphasis  by  its 
study  of  the  nature  of  the  Christian  religion  as  revealed  to  us  in 
the  life  and  teaching  of  its  founder.  It  shows  us  that  Jesus,  deeply 
as  He  was  concerned  for  the  individual  man,  highly  as  He  rated 
his  value  for  God  and  his  capacity  for  service,  never  conceived 
of  him  as  an  isolated  individual.  He  was  one  of  many  sons, 
potential  citizens  in  a  society  in  which  loving  service  was  to  be  the 
law  of  all  men's  life.  So  science  gives  us  a  direct  point  of  con- 
tact with  the  social  and  economic  problems  which  the  pressure 
of  the  time  is  forcing  upon  the  attention  of  the  Church. 

With  this  reference  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  we  pass  from 
the  direct  effect  of  modern  science  upon  theological  theory  to  its 
indirect  result  in  changing  the  environment  to  which  that  theory 
must  relate  itself.  We  have  seen  that  the  social  and  economic 
changes  of  the  day  set  the  Church  a  distinctive  problem.  But  these 
changes  are  themselves  the  result  of  the  scientific  movement.  It 
is  science  with  its  discovery  of  the  secrets  of  nature  which  has 
put  into  man's  hands  the  powers  which  have  made  these  changes 
possible.  It  is  science  with  its  invention  of  the  steam-engine  and 
the  cotton-gin  which  has  created  the  modern  industrial  system. 
It  is  science  which  has  built  our  great  cities  and  moved  our  popu- 
lation from  continent  to  continent  and  which  seems  on  the  verge 
of  discoveries  which  may  make  possible  changes  even  more  rev- 
olutionary. 

We  shall  speak  in  the  following  chapter  of  the  problems  which 
this  change  presents  for  our  definition  of  the  Church's  function. 
We  are  now  thinking  only  of  its  indirect  effect  upon  the  spirits  of 
men.  How  has  it  affected  the  spiritual  attitudes  with  which  the 
Church  is, primarily  concerned?  What  effect,  if  any,  is  it  likely 
to  have  upon  the  ideal  of  the  Church  as  a  teacher  of  religion? 


150  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

5.    Consequences  for  the  Church  as  a   Teaching  Body 

Two  contrasted  attitudes  are  taken  by  modern  men  toward  the 
historic  beliefs  of  the  Christian  Church.  On  the  one  hand,  we 
find  those  who  would  discard  them  altogether/  either  on  the  ground 
that  belief  is  a  negligible  element  in  religion,  or,  if  this  be  not  true, 
that  each  new  generation  must  formulate  its  own  beliefs  without 
reference  to  what  has  been  done  by  the  Church  of  the  past.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  find  those  who  would  reaffirm  the  ancient  creeds 
in  the  literal  sense  and  make  acceptance  of  that  sense  the  con- 
dition of  church  membership.  It  does  not  seem  likely  that  either 
of  these  attitudes  will  permanently  control. 

So  far  as  the  first  position  is  concerned,  we  have  already  seen 
that  belief  is  inseparable  from  experience  and  that  to  reject  all 
creeds  is  to  abandon  the  possibility  of  any  effective  concerted  action. 
To  say,  as  is  so  much  the  fashion  at  present,  that  we  are  to  unite 
on  our  purposes  rather  than  on  our  beliefs  is  an  evasion  of  the 
issue.  For  purposes  are  themselves  beliefs,  differing  from  other  be- 
liefs only  in  that  they  voice  convictions  which  are  capable  of  ex- 
pression in  action.  The  choice  is  not  between  beliefs  and  no  beliefs, 
but  between  beliefs  imposed  from  without  in  the  form  of  law  as  is 
the  case  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  beliefs  which  express 
convictions  freely  formed  in  response  to  some  appeal  which  verifies 
itself  in  experience.  Protestants  are  convinced  that  Christian  faith 
should  be  of  the  latter  kind  and  for  that  reason  must  be  reformu- 
lated from  age  to  age  in  the  light  of  enlarging  experience. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  older  beliefs  are  to  be  regarded 
as  valueless,  any  more  than  this  is  the  case  with  similar  beliefs  in 
science,  but  only  that  they  are  to  be  included  in  a  wider  synthesis. 
The  Ptolemaic  astronomy  was  not  proved  false  by  the  Copernican. 
It  was  only  proved  inadequate.  It  is  true  that  to  the  man  who 
stands  on  the  earth  the  sun  rises  in  the  east  and  sets  in  the  west. 
But  Copernicus  has  shown  us  that  there  are  other  points  of  view 
from  which  one  may  contemplate  the  sun,  and  for  these  the 
Ptolemaic  formula  is  no  longer  adequate.  So  the  Christian  creeds 
express  truths  in  forms  natural  to  the  day  in  which  they  were 

'Cf.  Drake,  "Shall  We  Stand  by  the  Church?"  New  York,  1320,  pp.  125  sq.; 
Holmes,  "New  Churches  for  Old,"  New  York,  1922,  p.  232. 


THE  NEW  INTELLECTUAL  ENVIRONMENT  151 

given,  but  which  need  to  be  supplemented  and  corrected  by  the 
new  experience  and  insight  of  later  generations. 

Those  who  insist  that  the  ancient  creeds  must  be  accepted  in 
the  literal  sense  in  which  they  were  held  by  those  who  formulated 
them  are  not  therefore  likely  to  be  successful.  Much  which  the 
old  creeds  tried  to  say  about  God  and  man  and  salvation  we 
modem  men  believe  and  affirm,  but  we  interpret  the  old  affirma- 
tions in  the  light  of  a  new  universe  and  give  the  old  words  new 
and  larger  meaning.  When  we  say  that  Christ  is  coming  again  to 
judge  the  world,  our  vision  ranges  not  simply  over  the  few  decades 
spanned  by  the  men  who  first  put  this  phrase  into  the  creed,  but 
over  the  whole  course  of  human  history  since  then,  and  the  state- 
ment to  us  expresses  a  larger  faith  and  makes  demands  for  new 
forms  of  consecration.  We  think  of  that  coming  as  a  spiritual 
process  in  which  little  by  little  the  institutions  of  society  as  well 
as  the  lives  of  the  men  and  women  who  live  under  them  are  to 
be  conformed  to  the  mind  of  Christ.  So  the  old  word  about  God 
as  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth  acquires  a  profounder  significance 
in  the  light  of  our  present  understanding  of  the  extent  and  dura- 
tion of  the  universe  so  described.  We  still  read  the  fortieth  chapter 
of  Isaiah  and  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-ninth  Psalm,  and  find 
our  faith  expressed  in  what  we  read.  But  how  immeasurably 
vaster  the  range  and  sweep  of  the  vision  to  which  modern  science 
has  opened  our  eyes.  Christ  is  still  to  us  the  centre  of  human 
history,  the  Saviour  for  whom  the  world  has  been  looking,  but 
what  the  words  mean  science  has  helped  us  to  understand  as,  apart 
from  its  teaching,  we  could  never  have  known. 

If,  then,  we  retain  the  old  creeds  it  will  be  in  a  spirit  of  free- 
dom not  possible  to  the  men  who  formulated  them.  As  each  gen^ 
eration  writes  its  own  commentaries  on  the  Bible,  and  what  is 
more  important,  lives  them,  so  of  the  creeds.  We  shall  reinterpret 
the  old  creeds  and  write  new  ones,  each  generation  of  us.  The 
Social  Ideals  of  the  Churches  ^  is  an  example  in  point.  But  they 
will  not  supersede  but  interpret  the  older  words  about  the  Saviour 
Christ,  and  His  Kingdom.  The  living  Spirit  in  whom  we  profess 
to  believe  will  lead  us  into  more  truth  as  the  Master  promised, 
and  we  shall  rejoice  in  this  truth  for  ourselves,  accept  it  gladly, 

*Cf.  p.  89. 


152  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

and  pass  it  on  to  our  children,  knowing  well  that  for  them,  too, 
it  will  not  be  final,  but  that  they  will  receive  light  from  the  same 
living  Spirit  and  pass  on  the  torch  to  their  children. 

In  assisting  us  to  cultivate  this  spiritual  attitude,  science  can 
help  us  most.  The  qualities  which  inspire  science  at  its  best  are  the 
qualities  by  which  religion  lives — faith,  co-operation,  service.  Faith 
in  the  significance  and  consistency  of  nature,  and  in  man's  ability, 
if  he  persevere,  to  find  his  way  to  the  truth;  co-operation  with  all 
other  seekers  after  truth  in  an  enterprise  in  which  success  is  given 
to  no  individual  alone,  but  becomes  possible  only  through  the  union 
of  all;  unselfish  service  rendered  with  no  thought  of  fame  or  re- 
ward, but  only  to  advance  the  cause: — these  are  qualities  which 
are  characteristic  of  religion  at  its  best.  Substitute  for  nature  the 
unseen  Spirit  who  inhabits  nature,  whom  religion  calls  God;  sub- 
stitute for  co-operation  in  the  world  of  thought  the  wider  co-opera- 
tion which  takes  place  in  human  activity  in  all  its  forms;  sub- 
stitute for  the  service  of  truth  for  its  own  sake  the  service  of  the 
spiritual  beings  who  live  by  the  truth,  and  you  will  have  a 
good  description  of  the  spirit  of  religion  at  its  best.  Without  this 
spirit  there  can  be  no  future  for  religion  and  no  hope  for  mankind. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER 

1.     The  Church's  Stake  in  the  New  Social  Order 

In  our  review  of  the  effects  of  the  modem  scientific  movement 
we  have  been  interested,  thus  far,  in  the  bearing  of  the  movement 
upon  individual  faith.  We  have  tried  to  discover  what  changes 
modern  science  has  made  in  men's  attitude  to  the  beliefs  and  loyal- 
ties of  the  past;  whether  and  how  far  they  can  still  honestly  use  the 
old  creeds,  practise  the  old  rites,  and  keep  their  place  in  the  historic 
institution  to  which  the  Christian  religion  has  given  birth.  But 
Christianity  has  never  claimed  to  be  simply  a  religion  for  individ- 
uals. It  has  always  upheld  an  ideal  for  society.  Side  by  side  with 
His  preaching  of  personal  repentance,  Jesus  announced  the  coming 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  In  every  age  the  Church  has  interpreted 
His  message  in  its  own  way.  The  social  aspects  of  the  Gospel, 
which  our  individualistic  Protestantism  has  too  long  overlooked  or 
subordinated,  are  being  forced  again  into  the  foreground  by  the 
changes  which  we  have  studied.  We  have  considered  the  effect  of 
these  changes  upon  the  character  of  our  contemporary  religious  life. 
It  is  time  to  examine  in  more  detail  their  relation  to  the  function 
of  the  Church.  What  exactly  is  the  Church's  responsibility  for  the 
welfare  of  society  as  distinct  from  the  individuals  who  compose  it? 
In  what  sense  and  by  what  right  may  the  Church  speak  with 
authority  upon  the  political  and  economic  issues  which  divide  men? 

A  year  ago  a  car  strike  broke  out  in  a  Western  city.  It  went 
through  the  usual  course  of  such  disputes.  When  the  men  went 
out  strike-breakers  were  brought  in.  They  were  housed  by  the  com- 
pany in  places  to  which  the  strikers  were  denied  access  and  sent  to 
their  work  under  armed  guards.  Ill-feeling  was  engendered  and  a 
riot  occurred  in  which  shots  were  fired  and  several  persons  were 
killed.  After  running  on  for  weeks  the  strike  was  finally  won  by 
the  company  and  many  of  the  men  lost  their  jobs  and  were  obliged 
to  leave  the  city  in  search  of  work  in  other  places.     Many  of  them 

153 


154  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

had  worked  for  the  company  for  years.^  They  were  sober  and  re- 
spectable men,  fathers  of  families,  many  of  them  owners  of  their 
own  homes.^  A  surprisingly  large  number,  in  view  of  the  state- 
ments often  made  about  the  absence  of  the  workingman  from  the 
Church,  were  members  of  the  local  churches.^  Yet  they  were  obliged 
to  leave  home  and  church  and  go  out  to  begin  life  over  again  with 
all  the  loss,  religious  as  well  as  economic  and  personal,  which  that 
change  involved. 

This  familiar  experience  brings  before  us  the  most  obvious 
point  of  contact  between  the  Church  and  contemporary  social  ques- 
tions, and  that  is,  the  people  in  the  churches.  The  minister  must 
concern  himself  with  economic  and  political  questions  not  because 
he  is  interested  in  them  for  their  own  sake,  but  because  the  forces 
which  operate  in  business  and  politics  work  out  their  practical  con- 
sequences in  the  lives  of  the  men  and  women  in  his  congregation. 
We  begin  to  see  that  the  issues  joined  in  the  present  industrial 
struggle  are  not  simply  material,  but  spiritual.  Moral  values  are 
at  stake — a  man's  right  to  self-determination  and  self-expression, 
the  possibility  of  decent  conditions  in  which  to  bring  up  his  children, 
the  assurance  of  just  treatment  in  the  partition  of  the  fruits  of  com- 
mon toil.  When  under  the  leadership  of  the  local  Commission  of 
Religious  Forces  a  number  of  Denver  ministers  came  together  to 
study  the  causes  of  that  strike  and  see  if  something  could  not  be 
done  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  similar  social  waste  in  the  future, 
they  were  doing  the  plain  duty  which  came  to  them  in  the  course 
of  their  ministry  as  pastors.* 

What  is  true  on  a  smaller  scale  of  the  communities  affected  by 
industrial  strife  is  true  of  the  nation  as  a  whole  in  connection  with 
the  great  upheaval  of  war.  We  have  tried  to  describe  the  effect 
of  that  upheaval  upon  the  religious  life  of  the  young  men  who  were 
called  from  their  homes  to  take  part  in  this  new  and  unprecedented 
experience,  but  what  we  were  able  to  study  was  but  the  first  chapter 
of  an  unfinished  story.  The  sequel  is  only  beginning  to  unfold 
itself  in  the  spirit  of  inertia  and  suspicion  which  has  spread  like  a 

^237  out  of  412  had  worked  for  the  company  more  than  five  years;  174 
more  than  ten  years;  71  more  than  twenty  years. 

*345  were  or  had  been  married;  164  owned  their  own  homes. 

'210  were  church  members.     Others  had  less  definite  church  relationship. 

"  Cf.  "The  Denver  Tramway  Strike  of  1920."  Report  by  Edward  T.  Devine, 
Ph.D.,  Rev.  John  A.  Ryan,  D.D.,  John  A.  Lapp,  LL.D.,  Denver,  1921. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER  155 

miasma  all  over  the  civilized  world  and  which  reaches  down  in  a 
hundred  ways  into  the  lives  of  the  individual  men  and  women  who 
make  up  our  congregations.  This  affects  the  work  of  the  Church 
in  many  ways.  It  creates  an  atmosphere  of  suspicion  and  strife 
which  makes  it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  sincere  Christians  to 
live  out  their  Christianity.  The  Christian  religion  teaches  me  that 
I  ought  to  love  my  neighbor  and  wish  him  success;  that  I  ought 
to  further  his  welfare  in  every  possible  way  and  co-operate  with  him 
in  helping  others;  but  the  conditions  under  which  we  are  living  to- 
day are  often  such  as  to  make  this  practically  impossible.  When  a 
strike  takes  place  on  the  large  scale  in  which  strikes  occur  in  modern 
industry,  the  first  effect  is  to  interrupt  the  direct  relations  between 
the  parties  to  the  dispute  with  all  the  possibilities  of  suspicion  and 
misrepresentation  which  inevitably  result.  The  ethics  of  peace  give 
place  to  the  ethics  of  war,  and  the  first  article  of  the  ethics  of  war 
is  that  everything  is  right  which  helps  my  side  to  win.  If  human 
sympathy  makes  me  feel  for  my  enemy  and  want  to  help  him 
rather  than  injure  him,  then  steps  must  be  taken  to  put  a  stop  to  that 
sympathy.  If  the  knowledge  that  he  has  some  right  on  his  side 
weakens  my  will  to  win  at  any  cost,  then  that  knowledge  must  be 
suppressed.  So  we  see  side  by  side  with  the  machinery  for  mobiliz- 
ing the  economic  and  physical  resources  of  the  contestants  a  prop- 
aganda which  is  directed  to  securing  unity  of  spirit,  and  this 
propaganda — not  because  of  any  deliberate  choice  on  the  part  of 
those  who  engage  in  it,  but  by  the  inherent  logic  of  the  situation 
—operates  with  the  motives  of  suspicion,  fear,  and  hate.  For  the 
purpose  of  winning  a  temporary  victory,  those  who  conduct  it  at- 
tribute base  motives  to  their  opponents,  not  realizing  that  by  doing 
so  they  imperil  the  foundations  on  which  their  own  future  peace 
must  rest. 

It  is  no  doubt  true  that  individuals  here  and  there  manage  to 
resist  the  contagion  of  their  environment.  Even  in  time  of  indus- 
trial strife  they  succeed  in  keeping  alive  that  kindly  human  feeling 
which  is  the  normal  relation  between  man  and  man,  just  as  there  are 
soldiers  who  even  in  the  most  dreadful  war  never  lose  their  sense  of 
the  common  humanity  which  unites  them  with  the  enemy.  The  fact 
remains  that  it  is  immensely  more  difficult  to  do  this  in  time  of 
war  than  in  time  of  peace,  and  that  while  war  exists,  industrial  as 
well  as  international,  the  larger  ministry  of  the  Church  is  hampered 


156  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

and  restricted  in  many  ways.  Were  this  situation  permanently 
to  continue,  the  Christian  ideal  of  a  world-wide  brotherhood  would 
be  proved  forever  impracticable. 

But  there  is  a  more  compelling  reason  which  calls  the  Church  to 
action.  It  is  not  simply  that  the  existing  situation  makes  it  hard 
for  Christian  men  to  act  out  their  Christianity,  but  that  it  threatens 
to  rob  them  of  their  faith  in  God.  A  creed  which  cannot  be  lived 
cannot  command  whole-hearted  assent.  If,  as  we  profess  to  believe, 
God  be  really  like  Jesus  Christ,  we  should  expect  to  find  indications 
of  this  fact  in  the  world  that  He  has  made.  A  Christlike  God  can 
express  Himself  completely  only  through  a  Christlike  society.  Un- 
less we  believe,  therefore,  that  such  a  society  is  possible — we  may 
go  further  and  say,  unless  we  see  evidence  that  such  a  society 
is  actually  in  process  of  formation — our  reason  for  believing  that 
God  is  like  Christ  is  correspondingly  weakened.  The  greater  the 
contradiction  between  our  ideal  and  the  real  world,  the  greater  the 
strain  upon  faith.  Men  reject  faith  not  because  they  would  not 
like  to  believe,  but  because  the  facts  make  faith  difficult.  They 
accept  struggle,  whether  between  individuals  or  nations,  as  the  last 
word  in  human  life  because  they  see  everyone  else  doing  so.  To 
hold  our  own  against  such  influences  we  must  be  able  to  show 
that  they  do  not  account  for  all  the  facts;  that  side  by  side  with 
the  competitive  element  in  human  nature  there  is  another  element 
which  seeks  co-operation  and  fellowship,  and  that  as  between  the 
two  the  second  is  the  stronger  and  the  more  enduring.  In  a  word, 
we  must  be  able  to  show  that  Christianity  is  a  practicable  religion, 
not  simply  for  individuals  here  and  there,  but  for  society  as  a 
whole.^  This  is  possible  only  as  we  leave  the  shelter  of  a  purely 
individualistic  religion  and  move  out  into  the  world  of  business 
and  of  politics.  To  keep  God  for  myself  I  must  be  able  to  show 
that  He  can  rule  the  world  where  my  fellow-men  are  living. 

2.    Principles  which  Determine  the  Nature  and  Limit  of  the 
Church's  Social  Responsibility 

If,  however,  we  accept  the  principle  that  the  Church  has  a  re- 
sponsibility for  social  standards  as  well  as  for  individual  salvation, 
we  must  do  so  with  our  eyes  open.  Such  acceptance  opens  the  door 
to  all  kinds  of  difficulties.     Some  of  them  grow  out  of  the  inherent 

*Cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  "Is  Christianity  Practicable?",  New  York,  1916. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER  157 

complexity  of  the  social  situation.  Where  so  many  factors  enter 
in,  it  is  not  easy  to  tell  just  where  the  Church's  responsibility  begins 
and  where  it  ends.  Even  when  we  are  clear  on  this  point,  we  are 
only  at  the  beginning  of  our  troubles.  It  is  one  thing  to  realize  that 
the  present  system  of  society  is  wrong;  quite  another  to  know  how 
to  remedy  it.  In  matters  of  economic  and  industrial  reform  we 
find  men  equally  sincere  and  equally  learned  differing  on  almost 
every  point.  Most  puzzling  of  all  are  the  problems  which  result 
from  different  stages  of  intellectual  or  spiritual  development.  All 
social  action  involves  an  element  of  compromise.  In  such  matters 
as  industrial  and  political  reconstruction,  many  of  the  men  with 
whom  we  must  work  do  not  share  our  premises,  or,  if  they  accept 
them,  do  not  understand  them  as  we  do. 

In  such  a  situation  the  only  safety  for  the  Christian  is  to  con- 
fine his  action  strictly  to  the  religious  field.  The  Church's  pro- 
nouncements on  social  and  economic  questions  must  be  such  and 
such  only  as  grow  out  of  the  distinctive  function  of  the  Church  as 
a  religious  institution,  concerned  primarily  with  motives  and  ideals. 
They  must  take  their  departure  from  Jesus'  view  of  human  person- 
ality and  express  His  conception  of  the  true  relations  of  men  in 
society.  The  unity  they  seek  must  be  secured  by  free  assent.  The 
converts  they  win  must  be  gained  by  the  contagion  of  personality. 

It  is  important  to  keep  these  principles  clearly  in  mind  because 
so  many  good  people  in  our  day  are  tempted  to  forget  them.  Once 
admit  that  the  Church  has  any  responsibility  for  bettering  the  con- 
duct of  society  and  you  will  find  people  who  will  hold  it  responsible 
for  everything.  Every  fault  in  our  present  economic  situation  is 
attributed  to  the  negligence  of  the  Church.  Every  cause  which  de- 
serves support  for  any  reason  claims  the  right  to  appeal  for  the 
Church's  endorsement.  A  new  calendar  threatens  to  supersede  the 
Christian  year,  as  Sunday  after  Sunday  is  appropriated  by  Boy 
Scouts,  Mothers'  Day,  and  the  like.  What  is  more  serious,  a  per- 
sistent effort  is  made  to  secure  the  Church's  approval  of  plans  whose 
economic  practicability  is  still  to  be  demonstrated,  or  which  are 
phrased  in  such  vague  and  ambiguous  terms  as  to  invite  misunder- 
standing. 

It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  remind  ourselves  of  the  dangers 
to  which  we  are  exposed  by  too  hasty  pronouncements.  We  can 
not  distinguish  too  carefully  between  the  central  Christian  principles 


158  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

on  which  general  agreement  may  be  anticipated,  and  those  matters 
of  interpretation  and  application  as  to  which  honest  men  may  differ. 
This  reminder  is  especially  necessary  in  the  case  of  social  service 
commissions  and  others  who  claim  to  speak  for  the  Church  as  a 
whole.  They  will  do  well  to  remember  that  their  utterances  will 
carry  weight  in  proportion  as  they  grow  inevitably  out  of  the  Chris- 
tian message,  and  convince  the  reason  as  well  as  the  conscience  of 
those  to  whom  they  are  addressed. 

Even  more  formidable  than  the  difficulties  which  are  due  to  the 
limitations  of  our  knowledge  are  those  which  grow  out  of  differences 
of  character.  Not  all  people  have  reached  the  same  point  of  moral 
development.  Many  reject  the  principles  of  the  Gospel  altogether. 
Others  interpret  them  differently.  We  look  forward  to  a  time  when 
these  differences  will  be  overcome  and  all  men  will  honestly  en- 
deavor to  do  what  is  right.  But  in  our  existing  society  this  is 
not  yet  the  case  and  the  presence  of  these  conflicting  elements  raises 
puzzling  questions  for  the  Christian  conscience.  Social  progress  is 
possible  only  through  the  co-operation  of  njany  different  kinds  of 
people.  What  shall  we  do  when  people  refuse  to  co-operate  or  ask 
a  price  which  we  do  not  think  it  right  to  pay? 

These  considerations  bring  us  face  to  face  with  the  age-long  ques- 
tion of  the  relation  of  church  and  state.  Our  democratic  institutions 
assume  that  the  majority  must  rule.  But  this  majority  consists  of 
many  who  are  not  Christians  or  who,  if  nominally  Christians,  do 
not  accept  the  full  logic  of  their  profession.  What  shall  we  do 
then?  Shall  we  acquiesce  in  the  decision  of  the  majority  when  that 
decision  seems  to  us  to  contravene  Christian  principles?  If  not, 
how  can  we  make  our  own  convictions  prevail? 

It  will  help  us  to  find  our  way  through  these  perplexing  ques- 
tions if  we  remind  ourselves  of  the  views  which  have  been  held  by 
our  fellow-Christians  in  the  past. 

Roman  Catholics  believe  that  both  church  and  state  are  divine 
institutions,  but  with  different  functions  and  authority.  The  state 
is  concerned  with  secular  morality  and  enforces  its  decrees  by 
physical  force.  Justice  is  its  great  word  and  law  the  agency  through 
which  justice  finds  expression.  The  Church,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  to  do  with  the  higher  morality  of  religion.  It  appeals  to  inner 
motives  and  makes  love  supreme.  But  this  dualism  is  not  final, 
for  God  has  given  the  Church  authority  over  the  state.     The 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER  159 

Btate  is  an  agent  which  the  Church  may  use  to  promote  the  ends  of 
religion,  and  by  using  this  agent  the  Church  may  in  effect  employ 
force  and  enact  law.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  good  Christian  to 
obey  the  Church  in  all  things,  but  the  state  so  far  and  so  far  only 
as  its  acts  accord  with  the  teaching  of  the  Church.  In  the  exercise 
of  its  function  as  a  teaching  body  the  Church  may  from  time  to 
time  pass  judgment  on  the  economic  and  political  theories  which 
affect  the  life  of  man  in  society  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  does  so 
frequently.  When  Rome  has  spoken  it  is  the  duty  of  all  good 
Christians  to  obey  her  voice  and  to  do  what  she  commands. 

The  older  Protestant  ethics  took  over  the  contrast  between 
church  and  state,  but  rejected  the  Roman  claim  of  authority  on 
the  part  of  the  Church.  Echoes  of  this  claim  lingered  on  in  the 
Geneva  of  Calvin  and  the  theocratic  state  of  the  older  Puritanism. 
But  the  conscience  that  had  broken  with  Rome  would  endure  no 
lesser  substitute,  and  with  the  rejection  of  the  Church's  authority 
in  matters  of  politics  the  older  method  of  affecting  a  reconciliation 
was  abandoned.  Some  Protestants  were  content  to  assign  to  the 
state  the  lower  sphere  of  civil  justice— the  justice  of  the  natural 
and  unregenerate  man.  Others,  like  the  English  Erastians,  were 
inclined  to  put  the  state  in  the  supreme  place  once  occupied  by  the 
Pope.  On  the  whole,  Protestantism  has  regarded  obedience  to  the 
state  as  a  religious  duty,  though  recognizing  that  in  times  of  crisis 
revolution  may  become  necessary.  Protestants  and  Catholics  alike 
have  failed  to  apply  the  full  Christian  standard  to  man's  political 
relations,  with  the  inevitable  result  in  a  dual  standard  of  ethics. 

The  German  theologian  of  the  last  generation  who  gave  most 
prominence  to  the  social  aspect  of  Christianity  was  Albrecht  Ritschl. 
The  Gospel  of  Christ,  he  taught,  is  an  ellipse  with  two  foci,  of  which 
one  is  redemption  through  Christ  and  the  other  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  In  his  theology,  therefore,  if  anywhere,  one  would  expect 
to  see  the  Christian  ideal  for  society  explained  and  applied.  Yet 
when  one  turned  to  the  section  which  dealt  with  the  state  and  its 
duties,^  one  found  a  strange  hiatus.  The  state,  it  seems,  is  an  excep- 
tion to  the  operation  of  the  principles  which  govern  the  life  of  the 
ordinary  Christian.  Unselfishness  should  be  the  law  of  the  indi- 
vidual life.    The  state,  on  the  other  hand,  must  maintain  the  rights 

*  "Unterricht  in  der  Christlichen  Religion,"  Bonn,  1875.  English  translation 
by  Swing,  "The  Theolog>'  of  Albrecht  Ritschl,"  New  York,  1901,  pp.  171  sq. 


160  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  its  own  citizens  against  the  aggression  of  others.  While  the  state 
is  never  justified  in  the  use  of  criminal  means,  it  is  yet  not  bound 
by  the  same  rules  which  govern  the  Christian  individual.^  In  the 
sphere  of  politics,  Christian  principles  do  not  apply. 

Stripped  of  the  veil  of  pious  phrases  with  which  it  often  cloaks 
itself,  the  doctrine  of  Ritschl  is  the  doctrine  of  the  modern  state 
everywhere.  The  supreme  attribute  of  the  state  is  sovereignty,  and 
since  there  is  no  super-state  to  which  all  others  are  subject,  each 
nation  is  ethically  justified  in  asserting  its  own  rights  against  others 
whenever  it  honestly  believes  them  to  be  imperilled.  Thus  pre- 
paredness, in  the  sense  of  military  armament,  becomes  the  patriotic 
duty  of  every  loyal  citizen,  and  the  possession  of  an  army  and  navy 
strong  enough  to  assert  any  rights  to  which  the  nation  may  reason- 
ably lay  claim  is  the  foundation-stone  of  foreign  policy. 

Such  an  attitude,  if  accepted  as  a  finality,  is  fundamentally 
unchristian.  It  overlooks  the  fact  that  nations,  like  the  individuals 
who  compose  them,  are  not  isolated  units,  but  members  of  a  family 
of  which  God  alone  is  sovereign.  Isaiah  pictures  the  ancient  rivals, 
Egypt,  Assyria,  and  Israel,  as  having  the  same  Saviour  and  wor- 
shipping the  same  God.-  Jesus  carries  the  thought  farther  in  His 
teaching  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God.  It  is  our  duty  as  Chris- 
tians to  formulate  a  standard  for  society  which  shall  be  true  to  this 
ideal  and  to  define  our  duty  as  patriots  accordingly. 

Such  a  formulation  is  attempted  by  the  radical  Protestants  who 
are  known  as  pacifists.  They  not  only  believe  that  Jesus'  principles 
are  applicable  to  state  as  well  as  to  church,  but  that  they  are  ap- 
plicable now.  They  insist  that  Jesus  has  laid  down  a  definite  method 
by  which  His  principles  are  to  be  applied,  which,  if  practised 
by  all  Christians,  would  render  possible  the  immediate  realization 
of  the  Christian  social  ideal.  In  particular  this  method  precludes 
the  taking  of  human  life  for  any  purpose  whatever.  It  outlaws 
war  not  only  for  the  selfish  purpose  of  moral  aggrandizement  or 
conquest,  but  even  for  self-defence  and,  what  is  still  more  difficult 

^  "Unterricht  in  der  Christlichen  Religion,"  Bonn,  1875.  English  translation 
by  Swing,  "The  Theology  of  Albrecht  Ritschl,"  New  York,  1901,  p.  246. 
"So  long,  however,  as  statecraft  has  to  defend  the  rights  of  a  people  or  a 
state  against  hostility  from  other  nations,  while  it  is  never  justified  in  the 
use  of  criminal  means  to  this  end,  it  is  yet  not  bound  by  the  same  rules  which 
hold  for  the  legal  and  ethical  action  of  the  individual  Christian  in  his  relation 
to  the  state  and  in  intercourse  with  other  men." 

=■  Isaiah  xix,  23-25. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER  161 

to  accept,  in  defence  of  others.  The  fact  that  the  state  has  ap- 
proved a  war  cannot  alter  its  essentially  unchristian  character.  On 
so  fundamental  an  issue  the  individual  conscience  must  assert  itself. 
To  yield  to  the  majority  would  be  to  deny  the  faith. 

We  have  referred  to  pacifism  not  to  debate  again  the  question 
whether  it  is  ever  right  for  the  Christian  to  fight,  but  because  it 
illustrates  one  of  the  possible  views  which  Christians  may  hold 
in  regard  to  social  questions,  the  view,  namely,  that  there  is  one 
particular  method  of  social  action  which  is  applicable  to  all  in- 
dividuals at  all  times.  Such  an  opinion  overlooks  the  fact  that  men 
grow  in  insight  as  they  grow  in  experience.  What  is  right  for  a 
man  at  one  stage  of  his  development  may  be  wrong  at  another. 
Moreover,  all  social  action  requires  some  degree  of  compromise. 
In  the  realm  of  motive  we  face  right  and  wrong  in  their  purity. 
But  when  it  comes  to  action,  duty  is  far  less  simple  than  the 
catechism  represents.  Life  does  not  always  present  us  with  a  choice 
between  good  and  evil.  Far  more  often  we  are  required  to  choose 
between  a  greater  and  a  lesser  evil. 

The  most  familiar  example  of  such  a  choice  of  evils  is  war. 
If  war  always  represented  the  self-assertive,  and  peace  the  self- 
sacrificing  principle,  one  could  confidentially  require  of  the  Christian 
that  he  be  always  a  man  of  peace ;  but  in  experience  this  proves  not 
to  be  the  case.  To  fight  for  oneself  is  one  thing;  to  fight  for 
others  quite  another;  to  fight  as  an  assertion  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  liberty  and  justice,  which  refusal  to  fight  would  im- 
peril, another  thing  still.  There  is  no  doubt  that  to  multitudes  in 
the  late  war  the  issue  presented  itself  in  the  latter  form.  War 
seemed  to  them  so  great  an  evil  that  it  was  hardly  possible  to 
conceive  a  greater.  Yet  a  time  had  come  when  to  refrain  from 
fighting  would  involve  them  in  a  worse  evil  still,  and  so  with  a 
clear  conscience  they  gave  themselves  to  the  service  of  their  coun- 
try and  believed  that  in  so  acting  they  were  serving  Christ  as  well. 

What  is  true  of  war  is  true  of  all  the  lesser  compromises  of 
which  social  life  is  full.  In  our  collective  action  our  choice,  we 
repeat,  is  seldom  between  good  and  evil.  Most  frequently  it  is 
between  a  greater  and  a  lesser  good  or  a  greater  and  a  lesser  evil. 
Confronted  with  such  an  alternative,  one  must  choose  the  course 
which,  on  the  whole,  comes  closest  to  the  Christian  ideal  and  throw 
all  one's  strength  against  the  evil  which  seems  most  seriously  to 
conflict  with  it. 


162  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

There  are  different  spheres  within  which  such  compromises 
must  be  made.  There  are  compromises  rendered  necessary  by 
degrees  of  knowledge.  There  are  others  made  inevitable  by  differ- 
ences of  spirit.  Some  things  we  have  to  do  because  our  fellows 
have  not  yet  come  to  see  what  we  see;  others  because  they  do  not 
yet  desire  what  we  desire.  But  our  reason  in  each  case  for  doing 
what  we  do  and  refraining  from  doing  what  we  leave  undone 
should  be  that  we  believe  that  of  the  possible  courses  of  action  open 
to  us,  the  one  we  choose  will,  on  the  whole,  do  most  to  hasten  the 
time  when  all  men  will  accept  the  Christian  standard,  and  society 
as  a  whole  in  all  its  elements  be  perfectly  conformed  to  the  mind 
of  Christ. 

These  principles  determine  the  relation  of  the  Christian  to  law. 
In  a  democratic  society,  law  is  the  instrument  of  social  progress. 
It  registers  the  average  opinion  of  society.  A  change  in  the  law 
is  the  most  effective  proof  that  the  ideals  of  society  are  changing 
and  the  social  conscience  being  educated.  The  Christian,  there- 
fore, like  all  other  good  citizens,  must  see  to  it  that  so  far  aa 
possible  his  ideals  are  embodied  in  the  law;  but  he  must  be  clear 
as  to  the  significance  of  what  he  is  doing.  A  law  that  is  imposed 
by  a  majority  on  a  minority  may  be  a  useful  instrument  in  public 
education  and  a  significant  register  of  social  progress ;  but  from  the 
Christian  point  of  view  it  fails  of  success  unless  it  becomes  the  free 
expression  of  the  sincere  conviction  of  those  who  live  under  it. 
Law,  as  the  Apostle  long  ago  perceived,^  is  a  schoolmaster  to  dis- 
cipline men  for  freedom;  but  the  ideal  is  not  realized  until  men 
choose  freely  what  the  law  prescribes,  and  would  do  what  it  orders 
even  if  it  were  absent. 

We  must  distinguish,  then,  between  the  function  of  the  Chris- 
tian as  a  citizen,  helping  to  form  the  public  opinion  which  deter- 
mines prevailing  social  standards,  and  his  special  responsibility  for 
bringing  men  to  accept  the  inner  motives  which  are  characteristic 
of  the  Gospel.  Faith  and  love  are  the  distinctive  marks  of  the 
Christian  social  order,  faith  in  the  Father  God  who  is  planning 
all  for  His  beneficent  end,  love  for  the  human  individuals  who  are 
progressively  striving  to  realize  His  principles  in  the  world.  Where 
these  are  absent  society  cannot  be  Christian.  Whatever  helps  to 
promote  these  is  a  legitimate  object  of  social  effort. 

»Gal.  iii,  24. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER  163 

We  have  already  pointed  out  three  main  aspects  of  our  modern 
life  in  which  we  feel  pressure  for  the  social  application  of  the  Gospel 
—the  conflict  of  race,  the  competition  of  industry,  the  rivalry  of 
politics.  In  each  we  need  to  work  out  a  method  of  procedure  in 
which  sincere  Christians  can  unite. 

3.     Illustration  of  these  Principles  in  the  Relation  of 
the  Church  to  Industry 

One  of  the  publications  of  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the 
Religious  Outlook  is  a  volume  entitled,  "The  Church  and  Indus- 
trial Reconstruction."  ^  It  is  an  attempt  to  do  in  this  particular 
sphere  the  thing  which  we  have  all  agreed  needs  to  be  done ;  namely, 
to  work  out  a  mode  of  procedure  in  industrial  matters  which  shall 
express  the  common  convictions  of  enlightened  modern  Christians. 
The  book  is  a  product  of  more  than  two  years'  study  by  a  repre- 
sentative interdenominational  group.  It  may  therefore  be  taken 
as  a  convenient  guide  for  our  present  purpose. 

The  book  begins  with  an  analysis  of  the  principles  which  should 
determine  the  Christian  attitude  toward  the  industrial  situation, 
the  principles  of  personality,  of  brotherhood,  and  of  service,  which 
all  Christians  in  theory  accept.  It  paints  the  picture  of  what 
society  would  be  like  if  these  principles  were  everywhere  lived  up 
to,  and  men  respected  one  another's  personality,  felt  and  acted 
toward  one  another  as  brothers  and  made  the  service  of  each  by  all, 
and  of  all  by  each,  the  general  law.  It  contrasts  with  this  picture 
the  existing  state  of  society  and  shows  how  this  violates  the  law  of 
personality,  the  law  of  brotherhood,  and  the  law  of  service.  Its 
authors  then  raise  the  question  how  far  these  violations  are  due  to 
the  system  itself,  how  far  to  faults  of  character  and  insight  on  the 
part  of  the  men  who  use  the  system.  This  leads  to  an  analysis  of 
what  is  meant  by  a  social  system,  and  the  complicated  ways  in 
which  systems  rise  and  are  modified.  It  appears  that  there  is  a  wide 
field  of  agreement  among  students  as  to  changes  which  are  possible 
and  desirable  in  the  present  system.  There  is  a  further  field  in 
which  there  is  honest  disagreement  as  to  whether  change  would  be 
for  the  better  or  the  worse.  In  this  latter  field,  the  authors 
contend,  the  Church  should  proceed  with  caution,  but  where  con- 

*  Association  Press,  New  York,  1920. 


164  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

ditions  exist  as  to  whose  unchristian  character  all  are  agreed,^  it  is 
not  only  the  right  but  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  deal  with  these 
evils  without  delay. 

Having  thus  defined  the  Christian  ideal,  the  book  proceeds  fur- 
ther to  inquire  how  this  ideal  is  to  be  realized.  There  are  steps 
which  can  be  taken  now  to  realize  the  Christian  social  ideal,  which 
indeed  are  being  taken  by  more  and  more  people.  These  the 
authors  proceed  to  catalogue,  illustrating  the  different  methods 
which  are  being  tried  and  the  results  which  they  have  thus  far 
yielded.  After  a  further  discussion  of  those  more  remote  and  far- 
reaching  changes  which  must  wait  for  the  longer  future,  the  book 
goes  on  to  inquire  what  are  the  duties  of  individual  Christians  in 
their  several  capacities  of  employer,  employee,  investor,  consumer, 
and  citizen,  and  concludes  with  a  consideration  of  the  responsibility 
of  the  Church  in  its  organized  capacity  to  illustrate  the  Christian 
social  ideal. 

More  important  than  any  specific  conclusion  reached  in  this 
volume  is  the  method  which  it  uses.  It  is  the  co-operative  method. 
The  book  expresses  the  conclusions  of  a  carefully  chosen  body 
of  Christians  representing  different  churches  and  types  of  social 
philosophy,  who  have  come  together  with  the  sincere  desire  of  dis- 
covering for  themselves  and  interpreting  to  their  fellow-Christians 
the  teaching  of  the  Gospel  as  to  man's  economic  duties  and  relation- 
ships. The  authors  take  their  departure  from  the  principles  of  the 
Christian  religion  and  enter  the  field  of  industry  at  those  points 
only  where  these  principles  seem  clearly  to  be  at  stake.  They  at- 
tempt to  separate  the  obvious  Christian  duties  which  all  men 
of  goodwill  must  recognize,  and  the  disputed  territory  of  theory  in 
which  men  equally  honest  and  sincere  may  differ.  The  effort  is 
made  to  keep  the  discussion  as  concrete  as  possible,  and  the  prin- 
ciples  laid   down   and   the   duties   enjoined   are   illustrated   from 

*  Note  the  difference  between  this  point  of  view  and  that  which  finds  expres- 
sion in  the  well-known  phrase,  "the  zone  of  agreement."  This  phrase,  fre- 
quently used  to  describe  the  attitude  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
to  disputed  questions  in  industry,  is  ordinarily  understood  to  mean  that  in 
any  question  at  issue  between  an  employer  of  labor  and  his  employees,  the 
Association  will  refuse  to  take  sides.  The  principle  here  formulated  refers 
only  to  differences  between  Christians  and  states  that  as  between  those  mat- 
ters as  to  whose  wisdom  there  is  general  agreement  and  those  more  doubtful 
questions  as  to  which  Christians  equally  sincere  and  honest  still  differ,  prefer- 
ence should  be  given  to  the  former. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER  165 

cases  where  these  principles  and  duties  have  proved  their  prac- 
ticability by  use.  Finally,  a  clear  distinction  is  made  between  the 
Christian  ideal  for  society  and  the  Christian  way  of  realizing  that 
ideal. 

For  it  cannot  be  insisted  upon  too  often  that  there  is  not  simply 
a  Christian  ideal,  but  a  Christian  way  of  realizing  this  ideal,  and 
it  is  quite  as  important  for  us  to  know  the  latter  as  the  former. 
There  are  some  results  which  can  be  secured  only  in  one  way, 
and  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  one  of  these.  Impressive  and  substan- 
tial as  are  its  outward  manifestations,  it  develops  from  within  as 
the  plant  from  the  seed,  as  the  leaven  in  the  lump.  It  spreads 
by  the  contact  of  spirit  with  spirit.  Outward  change  may  smooth 
the  way  for  its  advent,  but  it  is  an  inward  experience.  The  King- 
dom of  God  is  not  eating  and  drinking,  but  righteousness  and 
peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Spirit.^ 

It  is  one  of  the  merits  of  the  volume  under  review  that  the 
authors  perceive  this  so  clearly.  Much  as  they  are  interested  in 
finding  out  whither  we  ought  to  go,  they  are  equally  concerned  to 
know  how  we  are  to  get  there.  The  answer  they  give  is  the  old 
answer  of  religion  from  the  beginning.  We  are  to  get  there  by 
trusting  God,  loving  our  brother,  and  overcoming  the  obstacles 
created  by  his  ignorance  or  wilfulness  in  the  only  way  in  which  such 
obstacles  can  ever  be  finally  overcome,  by  the  change  which  time 
brings  in  those  who  have  been  growing  out  of  their  old  selves  into 
better  selves,  under  the  influence  of  education  in  the  truth. 

It  is  encouraging  that  so  many  realize  this  and  are  taking  time 
for  the  study  which  is  necessary  to  overcome  the  difiiculties  in  the 
way.  In  England  this  study  has  been  carried  further  than  here.- 
But  even  in  this  country  there  are  many  persons  who  appreciate 
the  importance  of  the  subject  and  are  giving  it  their  best  attention.^ 

*Rom.  xiv,  17. 

*Cf.  "Christianity  and  Industrial  Problems,"  London,  1918  (Archbishops' 
Fifth  Committee  of  Inquiry);  "Quakerism  and  Industry:  Being  the  Full 
Record  of  a  Conference  of  Employers,  Chiefly  Members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,"  Darlington,  1918;  Tawney,  "The  Sickness  of  an  Acquisitive  Society," 
London,  1920.  Cf.  also  the  stimulating  article  by  Mr.  Seebohm  Rowntree  on 
the  need  of  killing  the  war  spirit  in  industry,  New  York  Evening  Post,  Novem- 
ber 10,  1921. 

^From  recent  correspondence  with  a  well-known  employer,  the  vice-presi- 
dent of  a  large  manufacturing  company,  the  following  is  taken: 

"A  good  many  years'  experience  in  business,  employing  large  numbers  of 
men,  has  impressed  me  that  the  chief  obstacle  in  the  way  of  remedying  the 


166  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

The  cordial  welcome  given  to  the  bulletin  of  information  issued  by 
the  Social  Service  Commission  of  the  Federal  Council  ^  is  an  encour- 
aging indication  of  this  awakening  interest.  The  appearance  of 
volumes  like  the  Interchurch  investigation  of  the  steel  strike,^  and 
the  Report  of  the  Denver  Commission  of  Religious  Forces  on  the 
street  car  strike  ^  in  that  city  is  another.  The  increasing  emphasis 
given  to  social  questions  in  the  classrooms  of  our  theological 
seminaries  is  still  another. 

What  has  been  done  so  far,  however,  is  only  preliminary.  The 
number  of  persons  who  are  giving  their  attention  to  these  questions 
needs  to  be  vastly  increased  and  the  angles  from  which  they  ap- 
proach the  subject  multiplied.  Group  study  should  be  undertaken 
not  only  by  employers,  but  by  workmen,  and  within  each  industry 
by  the  men  who  are  familiar  with  its  particular  problems.  Con- 
sumers and  investors  should  study  their  special  form  of  responsi- 
bility and  all  these  studies  should  be  unified  by  some  central  body 
interested  in  the  larger  aspects  of  the  subject  and  bringing  to  bear 

evil  is  the  almost  universal  failure  of  capital  and  labor  to  understand  each 
other's  difficulties  and  to  get  each  other's  point  of  view.  They  appear  to  be 
equally  stupid,  though  it  is  only  fair  to  labor  to  say  that,  as  a  rule,  employers 
are  much  more  difficult  to  teach  than  employees.  In  considering  what  can  be 
done  to  make  capital  and  labor  less  blind  to  each  other's  problems,  I  am 
impressed  that  before  any  real  co-operation  can  be  expected,  there  must  be  an 
awakening  of  the  individual  conscience,  and  a  lessening  of  the  spirit  of  intense 
commercialism.  There  is  no  greater  power  or  influence  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  both  than  the  Church ;  in  fact,  I  doubt  if  there  is  any  other  influence 
than  the  Church  which  can  do  it,  provided  it  goes  about  it  in  a  way  which 
appeals  to  both  capital  and  labor. 

"There  is  no  place,  or  ought  not  to  be,  where  men  should  feel  so  free  and 
willing  to  express  themselves,  to  meet  each  other  halfway,  to  agree  upon  defi- 
nite policies  for  mutual  good,  as  in  the  Church." 

This  letter  is  typical  of  many  similar  ones.  Thus  the  president  of  a  large 
insurance  company,  to  whom  the  author  had  written  expressing  his  apprecia- 
tion of  his  attitude  in  a  certain  industrial  matter,  writes:  "I  believe  and  am 
convinced  that  the  way  out  of  our  very  serious  difficulties  to-day  is  in  prac- 
ticing the  principles  which  have  been  taught  by  the  Christian  Church  for  years. 

"In  this  instance  I  am  merely  trying  to  bring  to  bear  one  of  those  great 
principles,  namely,  the  Brotherhood  of  Man." 

'  A  bimonthly  bulletin  issued  by  the  Research  Department  of  the  Commis- 
sion on  the  Church  and  Social  Service. 

^  Cf .  Report  on  the  Steel  Strike  of  1919  by  the  Commission  of  Inquiry  of 
the  Interchurch  World  Movement,  1920;  Public  Opinion  and  the  Steel  Strike 
of  1919:  Supplementary  Reports  to  the  Commission  of  Inquiry,  Interchurch 
World  Movement,  New  York,  1921. 

^  Cf.  p.  154,  note  4. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER  167 

upon  the  differences  which  arise  the  wider  vision  and  impartial 
judgment  which  comes  from  the  Christian  view  of  life  as  a  whole. 
To  this  subject  we  shall  return  again  in  another  connection  when  we 
discuss  the  educational  work  of  the  Church  in  its  larger  aspects.^ 

4.    Need  of  a  Similar  Application  to  the  Questions  of  Race 
and  of  Nationality 

What  the  volume  on  "The  Church  and  Industrial  Reconstruc- 
tion" endeavors  to  do  for  the  subject  of  industrial  relations,  it  is 
equally  important  to  do  for  the  vexed  questions  of  race  and  of 
nationality.  A  short  time  ago  a  riot  occurred  in  a  Western  city 
of  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  in  which  more  than  fifty  per- 
sons were  killed,  many  more  wounded,  millions'  worth  of  property 
destroyed,  and  ten  thousand  Negroes  rendered  homeless  by  the 
burning  of  the  district  in  which  they  lived,  while  thousands  of  white 
men  looked  on  without  raising  a  hand  to  put  out  the  flames  and 
even  threatened  to  shoot  the  members  of  the  fire  department  if 
they  attempted  to  save  life  or  property.  The  occasion  of  this  la- 
mentable occurrence  was  the  complaint  of  a  white  woman  elevator 
operator  who  had  been  inadvertently  jostled  by  a  Negro  who 
stumbled  as  he  was  leaving  the  car.  Behind  this  simple  incident 
lay  a  long  story  of  misunderstanding  and  neglect  which  had  so 
strained  the  relations  between  the  races  that  it  needed  only  a 
spark  to  start  a  moral  as  well  as  a  physical  conflagration.^ 

What  happened  at  Tulsa  is  a  reminder  of  conditions  which  ob- 
tain in  many  parts  of  the  country.  We  hear  of  particularly  flagrant 
abuses,  as  when  peonage  leads  to  murder  in  Georgia,  or  some 
crime,  real  or  suspected,  leads  to  lynching  in  some  hitherto  peaceable 
community  in  the  West  or  North.  Of  the  causes  that  lie  back  of 
these  outbreaks  we  know  far  too  little.  When  a  Southerner  like 
Governor  Dorsey  risks  misunderstanding  and  persecution  by  a 
bold  statement  of  the  facts  we  applaud  his  courage.^  It  seldom 
occurs  to  us  that  as  members  of  the  Christian  Church  we  are  equally 
responsible  with  him  for  seeing  that  these  evils  are  abated  and  a 
more  Christian  relation  between  the  races  introduced. 

Yet  surely  no  responsibility   could  be  plainer.     How  can  we 

»Cf.  Chapters  XIV,  XVI. 

'Cf.  Nation,  June  15,  29,  1921;  Survey,  June  11,  July  2,  1921. 

•Cf.  New  York  Times.  May  1,  1921. 


168  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

preach  brotherhood  to  Chinese  and  Japanese  if  we  are  unbrotherly 
to  our  own  colored  Americans?  Some  things  we  may  not  be  able 
immediately  to  accomplish.  On  others  we  may  honestly  disagree. 
A  few  elementary  matters  we  may  surely  take  for  granted.  The 
Negro  has  a  right  to  humane  treatment,  to  a  just  trial  before  the 
law,  to  an  opportunity  to  earn  an  honest  living  and  have  a  decent 
home,  to  an  education  for  his  children  and  a  sphere  of  self-expres- 
sion for  himself.  An  obligation  rests  on  us  as  Christians  to  find  out 
wherein  our  present  treatment  of  the  Negro  involves  the  denial  of 
these  elementary  rights  and  to  see  what  we  can  do  to  remedy  the 
evil.^ 

What  is  true  of  the  relation  of  the  races  in  our  own  country 
is  equally  true  of  the  relation  of  nations  to  one  another.  In  this 
field  full  of  difficulties  and  perplexities,  there  must  be  careful 
thinking  if  Christian  principles  are  to  prevail.  That  they  can  be 
made  to  prevail  is  clear  from  the  widespread  response  to  the  first 
proposal  of  the  League  of  Nations,  and  the  equally  marked  revulsion 
of  feeling  which  swept  over  the  nation  when  it  began  to  appear 
that  the  public  sentiment  of  the  different  peoples  was  not  yet  ripe 
for  a  Christian  solution  and  that  there  was  danger  that  the  League 
of  Nations  might  become  simply  a  device  for  enforcing  the  right 
of  the  victor  over  the  vanquished.  Surely  there  is  some  other  and 
better  way  than  that  which  has  led  the  nations  to  this  "Pentecost 
of  Calamity." 

What  we  need,  then,  is  a  sober  and  careful  study  of  the  inter- 
national situation  with  a  view  to  determining  the  sphere  in  which 
the  moral  infiuence  of  the  Church  should  operate  and  how  it  is 
to  be  effectively  brought  to  bear.  In  the  midst  of  much  on  which 
we  differ,  we  shall  find  some  things  on  which  we  can  agree.  The 
first  step  toward  the  better  international  future  to  which  we  look 
forward  is  common  action  within  the  territory  of  agreement.  Out 
of  the  habit  of  working  together  will  grow  confidence  in  one  another, 
and  each  step  forward  will  point  the  way  to  the  next. 

*  An  encouraging  beginning  has  been  made  through  the  creation  of  the 
Federal  Council's  Commission  on  the  Church  and  Race  Relations,  a  repre- 
sentative group  of  men  and  women  of  both  races  and  different  ecclesiastical 
and  geographical  cormection. 

In  this  connection  reference  should  be  made  to  the  excellent  work  done 
by  the  Inter-Racial  Commissions  functioning  in  many  Southern  communi- 
ties, as  well  as  by  the  University  Commission  on  Race  Relations. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER  169 

5.    Consequences  for  the  Social  Mission  of  the  Church 

The  foregoing  discussion  will  help  us  to  define  more  clearly 
the  nature  and  limits  of  the  Church's  social  responsibility.  This 
responsibility  is  fourfold.  The  churches  are  responsible  (1)  for 
keeping  the  Christian  ideal  for  society  constantly  before  men's 
minds;  (2)  for  producing  men  and  women  who  in  their  several 
spheres  of  activity  apply  Christian  principles  to  social  relations, 
thus  increasing  the  evidence  that  Christianity  is  socially  practica- 
ble; (3)  for  keeping  people  informed  of  what  is  being  done  in  the 
social  application  of  Christianity,  and  so  helping  to  create  a  public 
opinion  which  will  make  it  possible  to  Christianize  all  our  institu- 
tions; (4)  and  in  the  meantime,  while  the  process  is  still  incomplete, 
for  conducting  their  affairs  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  a  convincing 
demonstration  that  a  Christian  institution  is  possible. 

(a)  All  four  of  these  are  important,  but  the  first,  under  the 
conditions  of  our  modern  life,  is  all  important.  The  most  serious 
of  all  the  obstacles  to  realizing  the  Christian  ideal  for  society  is 
the  fact  that  so  many,  even  among  professing  Christians,  have  not 
yet  accepted  it  as  an  ideal. 

What  would  society  be  like  if  Jesus  could  have  His  way?  Let 
the  authors  of  the  volume  on  "The  Church  and  Industrial  Recon- 
struction" answer  for  us. 

"It  would  be  a  co-operative  social  order  in  which  the  sacredness 
of  every  life  was  recognized  and  everyone  found  opportunity  for  the 
fullest  self-expression  of  which  he  was  capable;  in  which  each  indi- 
vidual gave  himself  gladty  and  whole-heartedly  for  ends  that  are 
socially  valuable;  in  which  the  impulses  to  service  and  to  creative 
action  would  be  stronger  than  the  acquisitive  impulses,  and  all 
work  be  seen  in  terms  of  its  spiritual  significance  as  making  possible 
fulness  of  life  for  all  men ;  in  which  differences  of  talents  and  capac- 
ity meant  proportional  responsibilities  and  ministry  to  the  common 
good;  in  which  all  lesser  differences  of  race,  of  nation,  and  of  class 
served  to  minister  to  the  richness  of  an  all-inclusive  brotherhood; 
in  which  there. hovered  over  all  a  sense  of  the  reality  of  the  Christ- 
like God,  so  that  worship  inspired  service,  as  service  expressed 
brotherhood."  ^ 

*  Pp.  31,  32. 


170  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

The  acceptance  of  such  an  ideal  does  not  require  the  surrender 
of  the  related  ideals  of  patriotism,  or  of  race  or  class  loyalty,  any 
more  than  the  acceptance  of  these  supersede  the  primary  duty 
of  each  man  to  his  own  family  and  his  own  individuality.  I  do 
not  love  wife  or  children  less  because  I  love  my  country.  I  am 
not  less  conscious  of  my  duty  to  develop  my  personality  to  its  fullest 
capacity  because  I  respect  my  friends  and  rejoice  in  their  happiness 
and  success.  As  each  social  unit  is  made  up  of  lesser  units,  each 
of  which  in  turn  has  its  independent  life  and  value,  so  society  as  a 
whole  is  made  up  of  smaller  social  groups  whose  welfare  and  prog- 
ress contribute  to  the  success  of  the  whole.  As  the  welfare  of  each 
individual  is  essential  to  the  well-being  of  the  family,  so  the  pros- 
perity of  each  nation  is  essential  to  the  progress  of  mankind.  In 
the  foreign-missionary  enterprise  we  have  recognized  this  in  prin- 
ciple. It  remains  to  draw  the  consequences  for  our  political  and 
economic  life.  We  must  take  the  general  principles  of  the  Gospel — 
principles  to  which  all  Christians  would  assent  in  the  abstract — 
and  translate  them  into  such  concrete  terms  as  hours  and  wages, 
tariffs  and  immigration  acts,  the  protection  of  women  and  children, 
the  right  of  workers  to  organize  for  their  own  advancement,  and 
their  interest  in  the  product  of  the  industry  of  which  they  are  a  part. 

(b)  Words  alone  are  not  enough.  Unless  the  witness  of  Chris- 
tians is  translated  into  terms  of  human  life,  the  Church  will  find 
scant  hearing  for  its  social  message.  Men  and  women  must  be 
found  who  in  their  several  spheres  will  apply  Christian  principles 
to  their  relations  to  their  fellows  and  so  make  their  contribution  to 
the  proof  that  Christianity  is  socially  practicable. 

There  is  nothing  new  in  this.  It  is  only  the  repetition  under 
modern  conditions  of  the  demand  for  personal  consecration  and 
discipleship  which  has  always  been  characteristic  of  Christianity. 
What  is  new  is  the  environment  in  which  this  ministry  must  be 
rendered.  In  the  mass  production  of  modern  industry  the  indi- 
vidual has  been  lost  in  the  machine.  Direct  contact  between  em- 
ployer and  employee  is  no  longer  possible.  More  and  more,  human 
beings  tend  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  raw  material  of  production, 
like  pig-iron  or  coal.  They  have  become  hands  on  the  lever,  num- 
bers in  the  balance-sheet.  The  Church  must  help  to  restore  them 
to  their  true  status  as  human  beings  with  spiritual  aspirations  and 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NEW  SOCIAL  ORDER  171 

ideals.  What  Jesus  said  to  His  first  disciples,  "Come  ye  after  me, 
and  I  will  make  you  to  become  fishers  of  men,"  ^  we  must  repeat 
to-day.  But  the  method  by  which  we  must  reach  the  men  we  are 
seeking  has  become  infinitely  more  complex  than  it  was  in  Jesus' 
day.  Often  it  is  no  longer  possible  for  one  individual  directly  to 
touch  another.  If  he  is  to  be  reached  at  all,  he  must  be  reached 
through  others.  All  our  relationships  must  be  organized  in  such  a 
way  that  the  human  significance  of  what  we  do  shall  appear  at 
each  stage  of  the  process.  For  this  there  must  be  intelligent  co- 
operation on  a  world-wide  scale. 

(c)  This  suggests  a  third  responsibility  of  the  Church;  namely, 
its  responsibility  for  forming  a  Christian  public  opinion.  The 
Church  must  inspire  in  its  own  members  a  desire  to  apply  Christian 
principles  to  the  part  of  life  they  can  control.  It  must  be  able 
to  point  to  particular  groups  who  are  living  in  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
and  proving  in  their  own  experience  that  His  ideal  is  a  practicable 
ideal.  But  this  alone  is  not  enough.  These  isolated  individuals 
must  be  related  to  one  another,  these  independent  experiences  cor- 
related and  interpreted.  The  lessons  learned  by  the  few  must  be 
shared  by  the  many,  and  a  public  opinion  be  formed  which  in  time 
will  make  it  possible  to  Christianize  all  human  relationships. 

As  a  force  for  the  formation  of  public  opinion,  the  American 
Protestant  churches  command  resources  of  which  they  have  scarcely 
begun  to  realize  the  magnitude.  The  case  of  prohibition  reminds 
us  of  what  can  be  done  by  the  churches  when  they  are  alive  and 
organized.  Prohibition,  however,  deals  with  but  a  single  evil.  Once 
let  the  churches  realize  their  responsibility  for  the  greater  causes 
of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  the  cause  of  social  justice  and  of 
international  brotherhood,  and  there  is  no  limit  to  what  they  may 
hope  to  accomplish. 

(d)  Whatever  may  be  true  of  social  institutions  in  general, 
there  is  one  sphere  in  which  it  would  seem  as  if  the  Christian  social 
ideal  could  at  once  be  completely  realized.  That  is  in  the  Church 
itself.  The  Church  is  an  epitome  of  human  society.  Like  the  state, 
it  is  a  government  with  laws  and  officers  to  enforce  them,  and  it 
faces  in  principle  all  the  problems  of  government.  Like  Big  Busi- 
ness, it  is  an  owner  of  property,  and  an  employer  of  labor  on  a 
colossal  scale.  Like  the  nation,  it  includes  men  of  every  race,  but 
*  Mark  i,  17. 


172  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

unlike  the  nation  it  is  itself  an  international  society.  In  the  Church, 
then,  we  have  an  experiment  station  in  which  we  may  test  the  social 
practicability  of  the  Gospel.  Where  can  we  find  a  better  oppor- 
tunity to  put  our  principles  to  the  proof?  ^ 

Yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  demonstration  which  the  Church 
might  give  has  not  yet  been  given.  Institutional  Christianity  is 
itself  only  in  part  Christian.  The  Church,  like  the  society  of  which 
it  is  a  part,  is  the  scene  of  compromise  and  limitation.  Instead 
of  being  an  argument  for,  it  is  often  an  argument  against,  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  Gospel.  How  often  we  hear  men  saying,  "I  could 
be  a  Christian  if  it  were-not  for  the  Church."  Must  this  condition 
of  things  continue?     If  not,  what  is  the  remedy? 

^Cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  "Can  We  Keep  the  Church  Christian?"  Christian 
Century,  June  2,  1921. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  CHXJECH  AS  SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  AS  ECCLESIASTICAL 
INSTITUTION 

1.    Possible  Attitudes  Toward  the  Divisions  of  Christendom — The 

Movement  for  Church  Unity  and  the  Questions  of 

Principle  It  Raises 

A  STUDY  of  the  responsibility  of  the  Church  for  the  social  appli- 
cation of  the  Gospel  brings  us  face  to  face  with  a  new  question; 
namely,  what  we  mean  by  the  Church  and  how  it  is  to  function. 

At  first  sight  there  seems  to  be  no  such  thing  as  the  Church,  but 
churches,  partly  independent,  partly  rivals,  often  working  at  cross- 
purposes,  always  more  or  less  ineffective,  illustrating  in  their  own 
life  and  conduct  all  those  phenomena  of  hesitation  and  compromise 
which  we  have  seen  to  be  characteristic  of  the  life  of  men  in  society. 
Granting  that  we  can  solve  our  theoretical  problems,  that  we  see 
clearly  what  the  Church  ought  to  be  and  to  do,  how  can  we  bring 
this  standard  to  bear  upon  the  existing  churches? 

To  this  question  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  a  definite 
answer.  The  reason  for  the  weakness  of  the  Church  lies  in  its 
divisions.  By  human  wilfulness  and  frailty  men  have  transformed 
a  divine  institution  into  a  group  of  human  experiment  stations,  and 
with  the  transformation  have  sacrificed  the  authority  and  majesty 
which  is  the  distinctive  attribute  of  the  true  Church.  For  this  evil 
there  is  but  one  remedy — repentance  and  amendment.  The  schis- 
matic bodies  should  confess  their  error  and  return  to  their  original 
allegiance.  They  should  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Peter, 
and  accept  his  leadership.  Then,  the  wounds  of  Christendom 
healed,  the  Church  would  be  once  more  revealed  in  its  divine  ideal, 
and  would  reassume  the  spiritual  leadership  which  is  its  divine 
prerogative. 

It  is  a  solution  as  appealing  as  it  is  simple,  if  it  were  not  for 
one  awkward  and  incontrovertible  fact — the  presence  of  other 
churches,  as  conscious  of  their  divine  prerogatives  as  Rome,  which 

173 


174  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

question  her  authority  and  compete  for  the  right  to  rule  over  their 
fellow-Christians  with  a  confidence  as  unshaken  as  hers.  The 
Greek  Orthodox  Church  regards  Rome  herself  as  schismatic  and 
heretical.  The  rival  sects  of  Protestantism  may  differ  in  many 
things;  they  share  the  conviction  that  they  have  preserved  the 
pure  and  unadulterated  Gospel  from  the  corruption  of  Rome. 

A  further  difficulty  with  the  Roman  solution  is  the  inability  of 
the  churches  that  adopt  it  to  show  any  such  monopoly  of  the  Chris- 
tian virtues  as  would  seem  to  justify  their  claim.  If  the  reason 
we  require  an  infallible  Church  is  that  it  is  our  only  means  of 
delivery  from  the  effects  of  human  sin  and  ignorance,  then  we  should 
expect  to  find  the  Church  which  possesses  this  unique  revelation  il- 
lustrating in  an  exceptional  degree  the  Christian  qualities  which 
divine  revelation  was  designed  to  produce ;  but  no  such  demonstra- 
tion can  be  given.  In  the  court  of  morals  no  church  can  lay  claim 
to  a  monopoly  of  the  virtues,  nor  can  all  the  churches  together 
deny  to  those  outside  some  share  at  least  in  the  faith  and  love 
which  are  the  choicest  possessions  of  the  Christian.  The  Church,  as 
Roman  theologians  have  long  ago  clearly  perceived,  is  a  corpus 
permixtum — including  in  its  membership  good  and  evil,  saint  and 
sinner.  Like  every  human  institution,  it  depends  for  its  success 
upon  the  men  and  women  who  administer  it,  and  these — in  the 
Church  as  in  the  state — are  fallible  and  sinful.^  Dante,  good 
Catholic  as  he  was,  found  room  for  more  than  one  Pope  in  hell. 
Harnack,  from  the  Protestant  side,  has  summed  up  his  view  of  the 
situation  in  the  pregnant  sentence:  "Where  there  is  a  church,  there 
is  always  a  little  bit  of  the  world!" 

Confronted  with  these  facts,  the  extreme  liberals  discard  alto- 
gether the  idea  of  one  outward  visible  church.  They  believe  that 
the  true  Church,  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament,  is  an  invisible 
and  spiritual  thing.  It  is  the  fellowship  of  believers,  the  company 
of  all  the  men  and  women  who  share  Christ's  ideal  and  are  working 
for  His  ends.  This  society  has  no  fixed  limits.  It  is  not  confined 
to  any  ecclesiastical  organization,  nor  to  all  of  them  together.  It 
is  like  the  spirit  in  the  human  body — an  inward  presence,   felt 

^  The  only  exception  which  is  admitted  by  the  Roman  Church  is  the  Pope, 
and  then  only  when  he  speaks  ex  cathedra;  that  is,  "when  in  discharge  of  the 
oflBce  of  pastor  and  doctor  of  all  Christians,  by  virtue  of  his  supreme  Apostolic 
authority  he  defines  a  doctrine  regarding  faith  or  morals,  to  be  held  by  the 
universal  church."— Dogmatic  Decrees  of  the  Vatican  Council,  Chapter  IV. 


SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  INSTITUTION    175 

rather  than  seen,  known  by  its  effects  but  not  exhausted  by  them, 
it  is  therefore  a  waste  of  breath  to  talk  of  outward  unity.  Whether 
there  be  one  Church  or  a  hundred  matters  little,  provided  that  the 
ideals  for  which  the  churches  stand  find  expression  in  consecrated 
human  lives. 

There  are  two  reasons  why  this  view  of  the  Church  is  unsatis- 
factory. In  the  first  place,  it  overlooks  the  fact  that  outward  or- 
ganization seems  to  be  the  inevitable  consequence  of  spiritual  unity. 
In  the  second  place,  it  is  blind  to  the  equally  obvious  fact  that  in- 
effective organization  produces  unfortunate  spiritual  results. 

We  have  already  seen  illustrations  of  this  truth  in  connection 
with  the  labor  movement.  At  heart  the  labor  movement  is  a  spir- 
itual movement,  embodying  men's  desire  for  self-expression  and  self- 
realization.  But  this  desire  is  impotent  unless  it  can  create  instru- 
mentalities through  which  to  function.  So  we  see  the  growth  of 
labor  unions,  and  their  association  in  the  Federation  of  Labor,  and 
the  formation  of  Socialist  clubs,  and  their  incorporation  in  indepen- 
dent political  parties,  not  arbitrarily  or  because  of  the  selfishness 
and  wilfulness  of  individual  leaders,  but  by  an  inner  necessity  grow- 
ing out  of  the  nature  of  the  movement  itself. 

As  the  labor  movement  illustrates  the  necessity  of  organization, 
so  it  teaches  us  the  danger  which  may  spring  from  organization  of 
the  wrong  kind.  Where  workmen  and  employers — fellow-workers 
in  the  same  industry — have  no  common  organization  through  which 
that  unity  can  find  expression,  suspicion  and  misunderstanding  are 
inevitable.  The  natural  desire  of  each  group  to  advance  its  own 
interests  develops  easily  into  a  doctrine  of  class  antagonism.  The 
belief  in  the  essential  incompatibility  of  interests  as  between  labor 
and  capital,  and  other  teachings  which  foster  suspicion  and  distrust 
between  men  could  not  gain  the  power  they  have  if  they  were  not 
systematically  inculcated  by  persons  who  speak  with  the  prestige 
which  official  position  gives  them.^  On  the  other  hand,  employers' 
associations,  formed  for  the  legitimate  purpose  of  mutual  informa- 
tion and  helpfulness,  may  become  agents  in  promoting  social  sus- 
picion and  ill-will,  and  their  deliverances,  by  their  impersonal  char- 
acter, may  have  weight  and  influence  which  no  individual  utterance 
could  carry.  What  we  need  is  an  organization  in  which  both  em- 
ployers and  workers  are  represented,  which  can  approach  the  points 

^Cf.  The  Constitution  of  the  I.  W.  W.  already  cited,  p.  38. 


176  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

in  dispute  between  the  parties  from  the  standpoint  of  the  welfare 
of  the  industry  as  a  whole,^  As  it  is,  the  inherent  difficulties  of  the 
situation  are  aggravated  by  the  machinery  designed  to  deal  with 
them.  What  should  be  a  help  in  bringing  minds  together  proves 
often  an  agency  for  keeping  them  apart. 

From  this  situation  there  is  but  one  way  of  escape — better  or- 
ganization. To  dispense  with  organization  is  the  most  futile  of  all 
remedies  for  social  ills;  for  organization  is  of  the  very  essence  of 
life  in  society.  The  only  way  to  correct  the  evils  of  organization  is 
to  devise  better  methods  of  organization.  The  one  sure  remedy  for 
a  bad  institution  is  a  good  one. 

An  illustration  in  point  is  the  present  international  situation. 
Why  is  it  that  it  is  so  much  easier  to  stir  up  ill-will  between  the 
nations  than  to  bring  them  together  for  mutual  helpfulness?  The 
answer  is  obvious — because  our  political  machinery  is  planned  for 
the  first  purpose,  and  not  for  the  second.  We  have  constructed 
the  state  on  the  hypothesis  that  all  other  states  are  its  natural 
enemies,  and  when  we  try  to  bring  states  together  for  other  pur- 
poses than  self-protection,  the  old  associations  are  too  powerful  to 
be  overcome.  We  must  not  only  see  that  the  methods  we  have 
been  following  are  wrong,  we  must  not  only  produce  a  powerful 
body  of  sentiment  favoring  conciliation  and  peace;  we  must  create 
the  machinery  through  which  this  sentiment  can  function.    We  must 

*  Among  the  many  proposals  that  are  being  brought  forward  for  the  settle- 
ment of  industrial  disputes,  that  offered  by  the  Denver  Trades  and  Labor 
Assembly  is  especially  interesting.    The  resolution  embodying  it  is  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  capital  and  labor  are  rapidly  drifting  toward  a  condition  of 
industrial  warfare  which  will  be  disastrous  to  the  general  welfare  of  America, 
and 

"Whereas,  we  believe  that  it  is  the  duty  of  men  to  reason  together  rather 
than  to  blindly  seek  selfish  advantage,  and 

"Whereas,  labor  is  willing  to  rest  its  case  upon  the  application  of  the 
Golden  Rule  and  the  teachings  of  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth;  therefore 

"Be  it  Resolved,  That  we,  the  Trades  and  Labor  Assembly  of  Denver, 
invite  the  employers  of  Denver  to  appoint  a  committee  of  six  members  to 
meet  with  a  like  number  representing  the  Trades  and  Labor  Assembly  and  the 
Building  Trades  Council,  to  form  a  Good  Will  Council.  This  body  shall 
select  a  thirteenth  member  by  mutual  agreement  to  be  the  presiding  officer. 
We  suggest  that  this  'Good  Will  Council'  meet  every  two  weeks.  To  this 
body  any  industrial  dispute  or  difficulty  may  be  referred." 

The  Ministerial  Alliance  of  Denver  urged  the  employers  to  accept  the 
proposal  and  it  is  now  reported  that  they  have  appointed  their  representatives. 


SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  INSTITUTION     177 

replace  the  old  divisive  institutions  which  have  brought  civilization 
to  this  lamentable  pass  with  new  institutions,  international  in  char- 
acter, whose  avowed  aim  is  unity .^ 

This  insight  is  the  driving  spirit  in  the  movement  for  Christian 
unity  which  is  so  much  in  evidence  in  our  day.  We  realize  that  our 
kindly  feelings  toward  our  fellow-Christians,  to  be  effective,  must 
express  themselves  in  action.  And  that  means  that  we  must  organ- 
ize. When  Rome  threatened  spiritual  liberty,  it  was  necessary  to 
assert  the  right  of  the  free  spirit  to  break  with  the  past,  just  as  it 
was  politically  necessary  for  our  fathers,  a  century  and  a  half  ago, 
to  assert  the  right  to  break  with  the  mother  country.  New  occasions 
teach  new  duties.  Our  need  to-day  is  of  unity  quite  as  much  as  of 
freedom.  But  unity,  in  church  and  state  alike,  can  find  expression 
only  through  organization. 

The  present  movement  for  unity  takes  two  forms:  that  for 
organic  and  that  for  federal  unity.  The  former  takes  its  departure 
from  the  nature  of  the  Church,  the  latter  from  the  need  of  the 
world.  The  movement  for  organic  imity  seeks,  through  a  study  of 
the  nature  and  function  of  the  Church  as  revealed  in  its  foundation 
and  history,  to  find  some  way  through  which  the  separated  bodies 
of  Christians  can  be  brought  together  in  a  single  visible  and  cor- 
porate body.  The  movement  for  federal  unity,  on  the  other  hand, 
tries,  through  a  study  of  the  present  tasks  of  the  jl^hurch,  to  find 
a  way  in  which  the  different  denominations  which  are  addressing 
themselves  to  these  tasks  separately  may  be  associated  in  some  co- 
operative movement  which  shall  pool  their  resources  and  give  them 
the  authority  and  spiritual  power  which  they  lack  when  separated. 
The  two  are  not  necessarily  inconsistent.  Federal  union  may  be  a 
step  toward  organic  union.  Organic  union  when  it  comes,  in  church 
as  in  state,  may  prove  to  be  federal.^ 

The  chief  differences  which  must  be  adjusted  in  any  attempt  to 
secure  union,  whether  organic  or  federal,  concern  four  points:  (1) 
the  significance  of  the  institution  for  religion;  (2)  the  extent  of  free- 

*  More  important  than  any  decision  which  the  new  Court  of  International 
Justice  at  the  Hague  may  render,  is  the  mere  fact  that  it  exists. 

*  On  the  meaning  of  the  terms  Federal  and  Organic  Union  and  the  possible 
relations  between  them,  cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  "How  We  May  Unite,"  Con- 
structive Quarterly,  June,  1921;  cf.  also  "Christian  Unity:  Its  Principles  and 
Possibilities,"  pp.  8-12. 


178  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

dom  and  variety  possible  within  it;  (3)  the  form  of  organization 
most  to  be  desired;  (4)  the  means  of  securing  the  agreement  neces- 
sary to  bring  about  the  desired  results. 

2.    Different  Views  of  the  Significance  of  the  Church 
as  an  Institution 

Fundamental  among  the  differences  between  Christians  is  the 
difference  in  their  view  of  the  significance  of  the  Church  as  an  insti- 
tution and  its  relation  to  the  society  of  free  personalities  which  it 
serves.  The  high  churchman  of  every  school  views  that  relation 
as  fundamental.  It  is  the  institution  rather  than  the  persons  who 
compose  it  which  is  the  channel  of  divine  revelation.  The  institu- 
tion, therefore,  precedes  and  makes  possible  the  spiritual  society. 

Those  who  take  this  view  do  not  deny  the  difference  to  which 
we  have  already  referred  between  the  ecclesiastical  organization  and 
the  spiritual  society  of  which  it  is  the  servant  and  expression;  but 
they  regard  the  former  as  antecedent  to  the  latter.  They  believe 
that  it  is  antecedent  in  time.  Christ  founded  His  Church  as  an  insti- 
tution in  order  that  He  might  bring  into  existence  His  Church  as  a 
spiritual  society.  They  believe  that  it  is  antecedent  also  in  impor- 
tance. Without  the  institution,  the  society  of  persons  could  not  be ; 
for  to  it  Christ  has  committed  that  truth  and  grace  which  alone 
enable  it  to  function  effectively  in  His  name.  Thus  the  high 
churchman  finds  that  everything  depends  upon  the  right  organiza- 
tion. Apostolic  succession  does  not  seem,  to  the  high  Anglican, 
simply  a  matter  of  ancient  order  or  of  ecclesiastical  expediency.  It 
is  the  condition  of  the  existence  of  the  Church ;  for  without  it  the 
grace  which  makes  a  valid  sacrament  could  not  be  conferred. 

We  have  said  that  this  view  is  common  to  high  churchmen  ^  of 
every  school.  Anglo-Catholics  share  it  with  Roman  Catholics.  It 
explains  an  exclusiveness  which  many  Christians  of  other  schools 
find  it  hard  to  understand.  The  high  churchman  does  not  regard 
the  business  of  securing  unity  as  a  matter  of  bringing  equals 
together.  He  sees  in  it  the  recall  of  prodigals  to  their  Father's 
house. 

^"High  churchman"  is  used  here  in  a  restricted  sense  to  denote  those  who 
hold  a  view  of  the  Church  which  excludes  all  Christians  who  do  not  accept 
their  definition  of  what  the  Church  is.  The  term  is  often  used  in  a  broader 
sense  to  include  all  Christians  who  have  a  high  sense  of  the  value  of  institu- 
tional Christianity. 


SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  INSTITUTION    179 

This  spirit  of  uncompromising  devotion  to  the  institution  is 
found  among  many  who  would  deny  it  in  theory.  High  church 
Presbyterians  and  Lutherans  consider  the  Bible  and  not  the  Church 
as  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,  or  rather  the  Gospel  which 
the  Bible  enshrines.  But  since  that  Gospel  is  embodied  in  definite 
creeds  and  these  creeds  are  made  the  test  of  orthodoxy  (in  practice 
at  least,  whatever  may  be  true  in  theory)  the  ultimate  outcome  is 
the  same.  In  each  case  loyalty  to  the  truth  is  identified  with 
loyalty  to  a  certain  institution.  In  each  case  compromise  with 
other  bodies  would  involve  betrayal  of  a  divine  trust.  In  each 
case,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  this  view  meet  any  proposal  of 
unity  which  does  not  involve  the  complete  acceptance  of  their  terms 
with  a  "Non  possumus." 

The  difficulty  with  this  position  is  that  it  gets  us  nowhere. 
The  claims  of  other  churchmen  equally  confident  of  the  right  of 
their  position  are  met  in  the  spirit  of  absolute  denial.  Its  analogue 
in  politics  is  the  German  theory  of  the  state.  As  state  stood  over 
against  state  in  the  uncompromising  affirmation  of  sovereignty,  so 
church  stands  over  against  church.  From  this  impasse  there  are 
only  two  possible  ways  out — the  appeal  to  force  and  the  appeal  to 
reason.  The  appeal  to  force  we  have  abandoned  with  the  Inquisi- 
tion, and  with  the  cessation  of  wars  of  religion.  Even  in  the  days 
when  it  was  practised  it  was  futile.  At  most  it  could  induce  out- 
ward conformity,  not  change  of  heart.  So  there  seems  no  way  out 
for  modern  men  but  the  appeal  to  reason.  If  the  churches  are 
ever  to  come  together  it  must  be  in  some  such  way  as  this. 

By  the  appeal  to  reason,  we  do  not,  of  course,  mean  the  belief  that 
arguments  as  such  can  ever  produce  agreement  among  Christians. 
Religion  concerns  more  than  the  mind,  and  makes  its  appeal  to 
feeling  and  will  as  well  as  thought.  We  use  reason  in  the  compre- 
hensive sense  of  the  term  to  include  all  the  activities  of  the  free  spirit 
as  it  reacts  to  its  environment  and  builds  up  the  edifice  of  convic- 
tion out  of  the  experiences  which  have  come  to  it  through  its  con- 
tacts with  reality.  This  is  the  sense  in  which  our  Protestant 
forefathers  understood  it  when  they  claimed  the  right  of  private 
judgment  against  Rome  and  included  among  the  cardinal  loyalties 
which  none  could  deny  without  betrayal  of  trust  the  freedom  of 
conscience  for  the  sake  of  which  they  had  broken  away  from  the 
mother  church. 


180  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

The  low  churchmen,  accordingly,  are  searching  for  unity  through 
the  consensus  of  Christian  experience.  If  each  man  seeks  God  sin- 
cerely in  his  own  way,  he  will  find  many  joining  him  in  his  quest; 
for  God,  who  is  truth  itself,  cannot  be  inconsistent  with  Himself, 
and  what  one  man  learns  of  Him  through  his  personal  experience 
of  salvation  will  be  paralleled  in  the  history  of  every  other  man  who 
has  passed  through  a  similar  experience.  If  freedom  be  given  full 
scope,  it  would  seem,  then,  that  unity  must  follow  in  due  time. 

Yet  the  results  which  have  thus  far  followed  from  the  applica- 
tion of  this  method  of  free  experiment  might  well  discourage  its 
advocates.  High  churchmen  rest  their  case  against  it  on  the  divi- 
sions of  Protestantism.  They  tell  us  that  the  private  judgment  to 
which  liberals  so  confidently  appeal  has  rent  Christendom  into  a 
hundred  warring  sects  and  divided  each  of  them  into  different 
schools  of  opinion.  It  has  no  final  authoritative  coiu-t  of  appeal. 
It  is  impotent  to  give  the  certainty  for  which  the  human  heart 
craves.  In  a  word,  it  represents  the  bankruptcy  of  religion.  When 
one  looks  at  the  situation  of  Protestantism  to-day,  one  feels  that 
there  is  much  to  be  said  for  the  high  churchman's  point  of  view. 

It  may  prove,  however,  that  the  trouble  is  not  so  much  with 
the  method  as  with  the  way  in  which  it  has  been  used,  and  above 
all  with  the  anticipations  which  have  been  entertained  concerning 
it.  The  old  ideal  of  uniformity  dies  hard,  and  the  Reformers  who 
broke  with  Rome  in  their  theory  of  the  way  revelation  came,  pre- 
served the  assumption  of  the  older  Church  as  to  the  marks  by  which 
it  was  to  be  recognized.  That  God  should  speak  to  different  people 
in  different  ways,  that  a  man  might  reject  their  conception  of  truth 
and  yet  be  in  the  way  of  salvation,  seemed  to  our  fathers  diflficult 
if  not  impossible  to  believe.  The  divisions  of  Protestantism  were 
the  inevitable  result  of  the  attempt  to  secure  complete  agreement  on 
the  basis  of  freedom.  Each  variation  of  opinion  required  a  new 
organization,  because  it  could  not  find  the  liberty  it  required  in  the 
old. 

From  the  difficulties  of  this  situation  the  historical  spirit  helps 
to  deliver  us.  It  shows  us  that  the  causes  which  gave  birth  to  the 
Protestant  churches  were  entirely  natural  and  inevitable.  Some  of 
them  were  the  expression  of  different  ideals  of  the  religious  life, 
ideals  which  have  persisted  to  this  day  and  have  present  significance 
for  us.     Some  of  them,  like  the  great  organization  which  Wesley 


SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  INSTITUTION    181 

founded,  came  into  existence  because  definite  tasks  needed  to  be 
performed.  Still  others  owe  their  perpetuation  to  differences  of 
tradition  or  sentiment,  loyalty  to  some  leader,  or  response  to  some 
sesthetic  value  rooted  in  the  past.  These  differences  have  not  the 
momentous  and  necessarily  divisive  effect  our  fathers  thought  they 
had;  but  they  are  not  purely  arbitrary  or  negligible.  Some  of  them 
have  served  a  useful  purpose  in  the  past;  others  still  serve  such  a 
purpose  to-day. 

We  may  learn  a  lesson  here  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
We  think  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  as  realizing  in  a  high 
degree  its  ideal  of  unity;  but  it  is  unity  in  variety.  In  Catholicism, 
too,  different  types  of  religious  experience  are  found,  and  theologians 
differ  as  to  the  correct  interpretation  of  doctrine.  Nor  arc  these  dif- 
ferences merely  private  and  academic.  They  have  embodied  them- 
selves in  institutions  with  a  long  history  and  powerful  organiza- 
tion. What  the  different  denominations  are  to  Protestantism,  the 
rival  orders  are  to  Roman  Catholicism.  The  struggle  for  power 
between  the  Franciscan  and  the  Dominican,  and  later  between  the 
Society  of  Jesus  and  the  older  orders,  fills  many  a  page  of  church 
history.  So  generally  recognized  is  the  fact  of  difference  that  it  has 
found  expression  in  official  Roman  Catholic  theology  in  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  religious  and  the  secular  life.  The  saint  is  held 
to  a  higher  standard  than  the  ordinary  Christian  and  may  be  granted 
exemption  from  the  ordinary  means  of  grace  upon  which  less  ad- 
vanced Christians  must  rely  for  their  salvation.^ 

In  the  light  of  these  facts  the  older  ideal  of  uniformity  is  being 
generally  abandoned  by  thoughtful  Christians.  The  unity  now 
sought  is  a  imity  which  makes  room  for  difference.    The  surrender 

^It  was  not  an  easy  task  to  bring  the  different  Protestant  organizations 
together  in  the  General  War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches.  But  if  we 
have  been  correctly  informed,  it  was  no  less  difficult  to  reconcile  the  different 
interests  which  co-operated  in  the  National  Catholic  War  Council.  Cf.  Wil- 
liams, "American  Catholics  in  the  War,"  p.  114.  "Despite  the  contrary  opinion 
held  by  so  many  non-Catholics,  the  fact  remains  that  there  are  no  more 
convinced  and  at  times  stubborn  individualists  than  Catholics.  The  idea  that 
they  comprise  a  vast,  compact  organization,  which  can  be  set  in  motion  at  a 
touch  from  authority,  the  impulsion  of  the  central  will  operating  efficiently 
and  immediately  through  the  bishops  and  the  priests,  is  true  only  and  solely 
in  purely  spiritual  matters— in  the  region  of  the  defined  dogmas  of  the  Faith. 
In  all  other  concerns,  and  in  all  questions  of  methods.  Catholics,  and  in  par- 
ticular the  Catholics  of  the  United  States,  constitute  a  very  large  aggregation 
of  separate  schools  of  thought  and  types  of  action." 


182  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  the  convictions  which  any  group  of  Christians  hold  sincerely  is 
not  asked,  nor  the  repudiation  of  a  past  laden  with  sacred  memories, 
rather  the  inclusion  of  these  treasures  in  a  larger  unity.  "The 
philosophers  of  religion,"  once  said  a  great  philosopher,  "have  all 
been  right  in  their  affirmations.  Their  error  has  lain  in  their 
denials."  We  are  coming  to  see  that  this  may  be  true  of  the  Chris- 
tian denominations. 

3.    Different  Views  of  the  Limits  of  Legitimate  Variation 
within  the  Church 

How  shall  we  determine  the  extent  of  legitimate  difference? 
Can  it  include  the  existing  denominations  or  must  they  give  way 
to  other  forms  of  Christian  organization?  Or  shall  we  retain  some 
and  suppress  others,  and  if  so,  which?  These  questions  introduce 
us  into  the  very  heart  of  the  present  debate  concerning  church 
unity. 

Formidable  difficulties  meet  us  in  every  phase  of  the  Church's 
work — in  its  doctrine,  in  its  organization,  in  its  mode  of  worship. 
Recent  proposals  for  church  union  have  tried  to  reduce  the  range  of 
debate  by  specifying  certain  irreducible  minima  which  may  be  taken 
as  the  basis  of  further  discussion.  Thus  the  well-known  Lambeth 
quadrilateral  specified  the  Apostles'  and  the  Nicene  creeds  as  the 
irreducible  minimum  in  the  field  of  doctrine;  the  two  sacraments 
with  the  words  of  institution  in  the  field  of  worship;  and  the  historic 
Episcopate  in  the  field  of  organization.^  Unitarians  would  reject 
the  second  as  committing  them  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  The 
stricter  Baptists  would  be  dissatisfied  with  the  third  as  not  exclud- 
ing infant  baptism  or  insisting  upon  immersion  as  the  only  valid 
form  of  this  ordinance;  while  most  Protestant  Christians,  especially 

*"I.  The  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  as  'containing 
all  things  necessary  to  salvation,'  and  as  being  the  rule  and  ultimate  standard 
of  Faith. 

"II.  The  Apostles'  Creed,  as  the  Baptismal  Symbol ;  and  the  Nicene  Creed, 
as  the  sufficient  statement  of  the  Christian  Faith. 

"III.  The  two  Sacraments  ordained  by  Christ  Himself — Baptism  and  the 
Supper  of  the  Lord — ministered  with  unfailing  use  of  Christ's  words  of  insti- 
tution, and  of  the  elements  ordained  by  Him. 

"IV.  The  Historic  Episcopate,  locally  adapted  in  the  methods  of  its  admin- 
istration to  the  varying  needs  of  the  nations  and  peoples  called  of  God  into 
the  unity  of  His  Church." 

Quoted  in  Manning,  "The  Call  to  Unity,"  New  York,  1920,  p.  123. 


SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  INSTITUTION     183 

those  of  Congregational  or  independent  antecedents,  would  object 
to  the  fourth  as  unduly  limiting  the  form  of  the  Church's  organiza- 
tion and  above  all  as  denying  the  title  of  church  to  bodies  of 
Christians  not  episcopally  organized,  although  they  have  shown  in 
their  history  and  experience  all  the  marks  of  the  presence  of  God's 
Spirit.  The  Disciples  on  their  part  would  reject  all  three  conditions 
as  adding  man-made  requirements  to  the  sole  condition  of  church 
membership  properly  to  be  required  of  the  Christian;  namely,  the 
acceptance  of  the  Bible,  as  interpreted  by  the  individual  conscience, 
as  the  final  and  sufficient  standard. 

A  further  difference  of  importance  relates  to  the  extent  to  which 
the  Church  as  an  institution  may  rightly  enter  into  political  and 
economic  questions.  Some  denominations  are  conservative  on  this 
point,  maintaining  that  the  sole  duty  of  the  Church  is  to  win  indi- 
viduals to  Christ  through  the  witness  of  the  Gospel  and  that  any 
attempt  to  realize  a  Christian  society  that  is  not  based  upon  such 
antecedent  conversion  is  in  effect  a  perversion  of  the  Christian  wit- 
ness. Others  favor  a  wider  extension  of  the  Church's  mission. 
Agreeing  that  it  is  the  Church's  duty  to  witness  to  the  truth,  they 
think  that  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  that  witness  has  so  little 
power  is  the  indifference  of  Christians  to  the  patent  facts  of  social 
oppression  and  injustice,  for  so  long  as  these  remain  uncorrected 
they  constitute  a  most  powerful  argument  against  the  reality  of  the 
Christian  God. 

More  important,  however,  than  any  differences  in  the  conclusions 
reached  are  the  different  presuppositions  from  which  the  disputants 
approach  the  debate.  One  group  believes  that  the  Church  has  a 
certain  definite  and  fixed  constitution  which  was  imposed  upon 
it  by  Christ  at  its  foundation,  and  which  cannot  be  altered  or 
modified  without  the  sacrifice  of  the  grace  which  makes  it  a  super- 
natural institution.  It  is  not  a  question  of  what  we  think  desirable 
for  the  Church,  but  of  what  Christ  has  revealed  concerning  the 
Church.  When  that  has  been  determined,  the  time  for  question  is 
over.  It  becomes  our  duty  loyally  to  follow  the  direction  which 
our  Master  has  given. 

On  this  common  basis  we  find  wide  varieties  of  individual  inter- 
pretation. Indeed,  it  is  instructive  to  obscr\'e  what  strange  bed- 
fellows philosophy  makes  of  men.  Both  the  high  church  Epis- 
copalian  and  the  Southern  Baptist  believe   that  there  is   divine 


184  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

authority  for  but  one  view  of  the  Church's  constitution.  Each  holds 
that  Christ  has  definitely  prescribed  a  certain  way  of  observing 
His  ordinances.  Each  makes  unquestioning  obedience  to  the  divine 
command  his  justification  for  the  refusal  of  fellowship  with  those 
who  think  otherwise.^  The  result  is  the  lamentable  condition  of 
our  divided  Christendom. 

Observing  such  an  outcome,  many  Christians  are  convinced  that 
there  is  something  wrong  in  the  process  by  which  this  conclusion 
is  reached.  They,  too,  believe  that  the  Church  as  an  institution 
has  a  divinely  appointed  mission  to  fulfil  in  the  world  and  that  it  is 
not  a  matter  of  indifference  how  it  is  organized  on  lines  of  creed, 
polity,  and  worship,  but  they  are  convinced  that  the  way  to  discover 
the  true  method  of  organization  is  to  study  the  lessons  which  God's 
Spirit  has  been  teaching  His  people  in  the  course  of  the  Church's 
entire  experience.  They  think  of  the  Church  as  a  living  organism 
consisting  of  persons  spiritually  united  to  Jesus  Christ  and  progres- 
sively taught  by  Him  as  to  His  will.  In  the  course  of  its  history 
under  the  guidance  of  God's  Spirit  this  living  organism  develops 
the  external  forms  through  which  its  inner  life  is  expressed.  These 
forms  are  not  arbitrary  or  unimportant.  They  grow  naturally  and 
inevitably  out  of  the  past.  They  assimilate  the  results  of  past 
experience  and  hand  them  down  to  future  generations;  but  they  are 
not  rigid  or  immovable.  Nothing  that  is  alive  is  changeless.  It  is 
always  creating  new  organs  of  expression.  The  Church,  which  is 
the  creation  of  Him  who  is  life  indeed,  is  no  exception  to  this  rule.^ 

^An  interesting  example  of  the  strict  views  of  the  Southern  Baptists  waa 
their  refusal  to  allow  any  money  given  to  their  chaplains  to  be  spent  on  a 
communion  service.  Cf.  War-Time  Agencies  of  the  Churches,  p.  21,  "It  was 
specified  that  no  part  of  the  $250  was  to  be  used  for  the  purchase  of  a  com- 
munion set,  as  the  Council  believed  it  necessary  to  have  a  local  church  mem- 
bership present  in  order  to  hold  a  communion  service." 

*  One  of  the  most  interesting  things  about  the  recent  pronouncement  of  the 
bishops  at  Lambeth  was  the  extent  to  which  it  recognized  the  justice  of  this 
point  of  view.  Cf.  "Christian  Unity,"  pp.  359-360.  "On  the  one  hand  there 
are  other  ancient  episcopal  Communions  in  East  and  West,  to  whom  ours  is 
bound  by  many  ties  of  common  faith  and  tradition.  On  the  other  hand  there 
are  the  great  non-episcopal  Communions,  standing  for  rich  elements  of  truth, 
liberty,  and  life  which  might  otherwise  have  been  obscured  or  neglected.  With 
them  we  are  closely  linked  by  many  affinities,  racial,  historical,  and  spiritual. 
We  cherish  the  earnest  hope  that  all  these  Communions,  and  our  own,  may 
be  led  by  the  Spirit  into  the  imity  of  the  Faith  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Son  of  God." 


SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  INSTITUTION     185 

In  discussing  the  questions  on  which  we  differ  from  our  fellow- 
Christians  we  must  approach  them  with  an  open  mind,  asking  first 
of  all  what  agencies  the  Spirit  of  God  has  used  in  the  past,  and 
how  these  agencies  can  be  made  to  serve  the  need  of  the  new  day 
and  generation.  Such  widely  accepted  forms  of  organization  and 
worship  as,  for  example,  the  historic  Episcopate  and  the  Liturgy, 
have  played  so  important  a  part  in  the  life  of  the  Church  that  the 
members  of  the  non-Episcopal  and  non-liturgical  churches  may 
well  ask  themselves  whether  the  time  has  not  come  to  make  place 
for  them  in  their  polity  and  practice.  But  such  acceptance,  if  it 
is  to  promote  true  unity,  must  be  made  willingly  to  meet  a  felt  need, 
and  cannot  be  imposed  from  without  as  a  condition  of  reunion. 

The  two  ways  of  approach  which  we  have  thus  briefly  contrasted 
correspond  roughly  to  the  differences  between  the  advocates  of 
organic  and  those  of  federal  union.  The  contrast  is,  to  be  sure,  not 
an  absolute  one,  but  it  is  sufficiently  accurate  for  our  purpose. 
Most  of  those  who  have  been  most  active  in  the  cause  of  organic 
union  have  been  so  because  they  have  believed  that  Christ  intends 
the  corporate,  visible  union  of  His  Church  and  that  the  way  to 
bring  this  about  is  to  discover  by  discussion,  conference,  and  study 
of  the  authoritative  records  of  the  past  what  the  marks  of  such  an 
outward  and  visible  Church  must  be.  Those  who  advocate  federal 
union,  on  the  other  hand,  believe  that  such  discussion,  however 
useful  it  may  be  as  providing  points  of  contact,  will  carry  us  but  a 
little  way,  because  it  leaves  out  of  account  the  most  important  of 
all  our  data;  namely,  the  experience  of  the  living  Church  which 
is  working  out  the  true  form  of  its  organization  in  the  laboratory 
of  life.  To  the  question  what  this  form  is  to  be,  they  can  give  no 
final  answer.  Only  experience  of  the  future  can  teach  us  what  the 
Church  of  the  future  is  to  be  like.  We  must  learn  by  actual  experi- 
ment which  of  the  existing  forms  of  church  organization  are  so 
essential  that  they  cannot  be  spared  and  which  can  now  properly 
be  dispensed  with. 

What  interests  us  in  all  this  is  the  fact  that  these  experiments 
are  actually  being  tried.  The  goal  of  union  is  being  sought  by  a 
number  of  different  methods,  and  each  method  holds  out  promise  of 
real  accomplishment.  We  have  spoken  of  two  of  the  best  kno^^Ti 
of  these  methods,  the  method  of  organic  union  and  that  of  federal 
union.    But  there  are  others  which  are  not  less  worthy  of  study 


186  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

because  they  are  more  modest,  and  less  widely  advertised.  There 
is  the  method  of  administrative  union,  as  it  is  illustrated  in  such 
interdenominational  agencies  as  the  Home  Missions  Council,  the 
Foreign  Missions  Conference,  and  other  similar  agencies.  There 
is  the  method  of  local  co-operation,  as  it  meets  us  in  the  federations 
of  churches  and  in  the  community  church.  There  is  the  union 
of  Christian  individuals  in  unofficial,  yet  powerful,  organizations 
such  as  the  Young  Men's  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations. There  are  the  conferences  that  bring  together  official  and 
unofficial  bodies  in  Ecumenical  Councils  and  in  Continuation  Com- 
mittees. All  these  are  ways  through  which  the  Christian  spirit  is 
manifesting  itself  to-day.  Through  each  experience  is  being  gar- 
nered which  will  be  of  service  in  shaping  the  lines  of  the  Church  of 
the  future. 

4.    Inferences  as  to  the  Future  Organization  of  the  Church  Derived 
from  a  Study  of  Present  Tendencies 

Can  we  discern  the  lines  along  which  this  movement  toward 
unity  is  likely  to  develop?  One  hesitates  to  forecast  the  outcome  of 
a  situation  so  complicated,  but  if  the  past  is  to  be  any  measure  of 
the  future,  some  such  development  as  the  following  would  seem 
not  unlikely:  (1)  Denominations  of  the  same  or  closely  related 
families  will  be  grouped  or  merged,  and  as  a  result  the  denomina- 
tional machinery  and  denominational  consciousness  will  be  strength- 
ened not  only  within  each  nation,  but,  in  the  case  of  the  stronger 
communions,  on  an  international  scale;  (2)  the  leading  Protestant 
communions  will  be  united  in  a  nation-wide  Federal  Council;  (3) 
the  existing  agencies  of  interdenominational  administrative  union 
will  be  perfected  and  grouped  into  certain  main  divisions  such  as 
(a)  home  missions,  (b)  foreign  missions,  (c)  Christian  education, 
etc.;  (4)  special  questions  or  tasks  on  which  the  opinion  of  the 
Church  is  not  sufficiently  united  to  make  official  action  possible  or 
expedient  will  be  referred  to  commissions  or  associations  ^of  indi- 
viduals for  study,  experiment,  and  report;  (5)  agencies  of  local  co- 
operation will  be  multiplied  and  united  on  a  nation-wide  scale; 
(6)  intermediate  interdenominational  organizations  will  be  devel- 
oped on  state  or  other  convenient  geographical  lines;  (7)  periodic 
conventions  will  be  held  representing  all  the  interests  concerned  to 
give  public  expression  to  the  unity  of  the  Christian  forces  in  the 


SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  INSTITUTION     187 

nation;  (8)  similar  National  Councils  will  be  created  in  other 
countries  and  united  in  an  International  Council  embracing  all  sec- 
tions of  the  Christian  Church  willing  to  join  in  it. 

We  shall  reserve  for  later  consideration  ^  the  relation  of  these 
different  lines  of  development  to  the  movement  for  organic  union. 
It  is  enough  to  say  here  that  if  organic  union  is  ever  to  be  realized 
on  a  comprehensive  scale,  this  would  seem  to  be  the  way  in  which 
it  must  come  about.  Organic  union,  to  be  effective,  must  be  the 
expression  of  a  preceding  spiritual  union,  and  spiritual  union  be- 
tween those  who  accept  the  Protestant  principle  of  freedom  can  be 
achieved  only  through  some  such  process  of  life  as  we  have  briefly 
sketched  above. 

In  the  fields  where  progress  has  actually  been  made  toward  the 
corporate  union  of  churches,  that  of  denominational  groups  holding 
the  same  polity  or  of  groups  of  closely  related  denominations  within 
a  definite  geographical  area,  practical  co-operation  has  preceded 
official  action.  In  each  case  the  contacts  already  established 
through  missionary  work  have  proved  the  most  potent  influence  in 
bringing  the  churches  together.  The  world's  need  has  proved  the 
Church's  teacher.  In  seeking  to  serve  others  it  has  discovered  its 
true  self. 

We  have  an  instructive  analogy  in  the  life  of  the  nation.  Where 
organic  union  has  been  achieved  on  a  large  scale,  as  in  the  case  of 
our  own  United  States,  it  has  been  on  the  basis  of  a  preceding 
federal  union.  The  long  struggle  for  liberty  taught  the  American 
colonies  their  need  of  one  another  and  they  came  together  in  a 
provisional  organization  which  retained  for  the  co-operating  units 
their  full  sovereignty  and  liberty  of  secession.  But  experience  soon 
showed  that  without  a  strong  central  government  the  common  inter- 
ests could  not  be  adequately  conserved,  and  the  present  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  was  the  result  of  this  discovery.  Even 
so  it  took  nearly  two  generations  and  a  bloody  war  before  the 
older  theory  of  state  sovereignty  was  definitely  outgrown  and  the 
right  of  secession  at  will  finally  abandoned.  It  was  the  experience 
of  working  together  for  common  ends  that  made  possible  the  de- 
gree of  national  unity  which  the  United  States  now  possesses.  If 
unity  is  ever  to  come  in  the  Christian  Church,  it  must  be  in  some 
such  way  as  this. 

'  Cf.  Chapter  XIII. 


188  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

There  are  encouraging  signs  that  this  fact  is  being  widely- 
recognized.  The  pressure  of  the  world's  need  is  forcing  Christians 
together  in  many  ways,  and  the  contacts  so  brought  about  are 
producing  corresponding  changes  in  organization.  We  have  studied 
one  notable  illustration  of  this  in  the  General  War-Time  Commis- 
sion of  the  Churches.  What  was  done  successfully  in  war  may  be 
done,  must  be  done,  in  peace.  It  is  significant  that  the  bishops  at 
Lambeth  should  have  associated  with  their  moving  appeal  for  the 
organic  union  of  Christendom  this  significant  resolution:  "The 
Conference  recommends  that  wherever  it  has  not  already  been  done, 
councils  representing  all  Christian  communions  should  be  formed 
within  such  areas  as  may  be  deemed  most  convenient  as  centres  of 
united  effort  to  promote  the  physical,  moral,  and  social  welfare  of 
the  people  and  the  extension  of  the  rule  of  Christ  among  all  nations 
and  over  every  region  of  human  life."  ^ 

In  the  meantime,  the  movement  for  organic  union  is  going  on 
in  the  lesser  and  more  closely  related  groups  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made,  and  lessons  are  being  learned  and  experience 
gained  which  will  be  invaluable  for  the  larger  movements  which 
lie  ahead.  ^ 

For  it  is  important  to  remember  that  the  different  manifestations 
of  the  spirit  of  union  which  we  have  reviewed  are  not  arbitrary  or 
independent.  They  are  parts  of  a  single  movement  which  is  going 
on  before  our  eyes — a  movement  as  natural  and  inevitable  as  any 
other  life  process.  It  meets  obstacles  as  every  life  process  does; 
obstacles  in  the  realm  of  theory  and  even  more  serious  ones  in  the 
realm  of  sentiment  and  habit.  There  are  irreconcilables  on  the 
right  hand  and  on  the  left;  absolutists  who  insist  that  it  must  be  all 
or  nothing  and  individualists  who  cheerfully  meet  this  challenge 
with  the  declaration,  "Then  it  shall  be  nothing."  Behind  these,  re- 
inforcing them  in  a  hundred  subtle  and  disheartening  ways,  are  the 
forces  of  prejudice,  ignorance,  and  inertia,  which  have  been  the  foes 
of  unity  in  every  country  and  in  every  age.  Our  final  question  is 
how  these  obstacles  are  to  be  met  and  overcome. 

*  Conference  of  Bishops  of  the  Anglican  Communion,  Holden  at  Lambeth 
Palace,  July  5  to  August  7,  1920;  Encyclical  Letter  from  the  Bishops  with 
the  Resolutions  and  Reports,  Resolution  13,  p.  31.  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge,  London,  1920. 

'  One  of  the  most  instructive  illustrations  is  that  of  the  churches  of  Canada 
of  which  some  account  is  given  in  Chapter  XIII,  pp.  259  sq. 


SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  INSTITUTION    189 

5.    Principles  which  Condition  Future  Progress 

First  of  all  and  most  important  of  all  there  must  be  contact, 
and  this  contact  must,  so  far  as  possible,  be  natural  and  unforced. 
Hence  every  form  of  private  and  unofficial  conference  between 
Christians  is  to  be  encouraged  in  order  that  those  ties  of  under- 
standing and  confidence  may  be  formed  that  make  official  union 
possible.  Undue  haste  is  to  be  deprecated.  He  goes  far  who  goes 
slowly. 

This  contact,  to  be  effective,  must  be  in  both  the  realms  in  which 
the  Christian  experience  moves — service  and  worship.  We  must 
work  together  and  we  must  pray  together.  The  precondition  of 
any  effective  union  between  Christians  is  the  development  of  a 
common  religious  experience;  but  that  we  may  worship  together 
effectively  we  must  have  some  common  task  "which  sends  us  to- 
gether to  God  for  light  and  strength. 

Our  most  pressing  need,  therefore,  is  to  find  some  form  of  com- 
mon work  in  which  we  can  engage  together.  This  work,  to  be 
significant,  must  be  important  enough  to  require  the  services  of 
trained  men  for  its  successful  accomplishment.  Hence  adminis- 
trative union,  or  the  union  which  grows  out  'of  the  practical  co- 
operation of  those  who  are  already  serving  their  respective  organi- 
zations in  a  representative  capacity,  is  the  best  place  at  which  to 
begin  more  formal  relationships. 

However  long  delayed,  sooner  or  later  official  denominational 
co-operation  there  must  be;  for  unless  those  who  are  the  official 
leaders  of  the  different  bodies  feel  the  responsibility  for  educating 
their  constituents  in  their  relationship  to  Christians  of  other 
churches,  their  power  to  work  together  will  be  limited  in  ways 
which  we  shall  study  more  carefully  in  the  chapters  that  follow. 

The  test  of  effective  co-operation,  in  church  affairs  as  every- 
where else,  is  financial.  What  men  pay  for  they  feel  they  own. 
To  make  the  churches  realize  their  partnership  in  a  common  task, 
this  partnership  must  appear  on  the  balance-sheet. 

To  this  end  there  must  be  effective  publicity,  a  publicity  that 
uses  the  agencies  of  the  denomination  to  educate  its  members  in 
their  responsibility  to  the  larger  Church  of  which  the  denomination 
is  but  a  part.  The  key  to  interest  is  always  knowledge.  To  arouse 
enthusiasm  we  must  impart  the  facts. 


190  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Above  all  there  must  be  absolute  frankness  in  facing  the  situa- 
tion as  it  exists.  There  is  much  glib  talk  of  unity  which  does  more 
harm  than  good,  since  it  ignores  real  difficulties  and  seeks  to  sub- 
stitute words  for  facts.  Nothing  can  be  more  dangerous  than  to 
pretend  to  have  spiritual  unity  when  none  exists.  We  have  made 
great  progress  in  getting  together.  But  the  process  is  not  yet  com- 
plete, and  it  is  only  right  that  we  should  face  the  fact.  Not  in 
minor  points  only,  but  in  matters  that  are  vital,  Christians  are  still 
divided  in  spirit. 

The  ancient  cleavage  between  Catholic  ^  and  Protestant  still 
remains,  and  there  are  many  in  the  so-called  Protestant  churches 
who  consciously  accept  the  Catholic  view  of  Christianity,  and  many 
more  who  unconsciously  act  upon  its  premises.  This  fact  we  must 
take  into  account  in  our  future  plans  for  a  reunited  Christendom. 
Either  we  must  make  place  in  the  reunited  church  for  both  types 
of  religious  faith  and  experience,  or  confess  that  for  the  present  at 
least  our  union  must  be  incomplete. 

Apart  from  this  major  cleavage  between  Christians  there  are 
other  differences  to  be  considered.  At  some  of  these  we  have  already 
had  occasion  to  glance  in  earlier  portions  of  this  chapter.  They  are 
found  in  the  field  of  doctrine,  of  worship,  and  of  organization. 
Some  of  these  differences  are  inherent  and  must  be  dealt  with  by 
mutual  recognition  and  tolerance.  Others  are  due  to  misunder- 
standing or  immaturity  and  can  be  removed  by  education.  All  are 
real  difficulties  to  be  faced  frankly,  discussed  freely,  and  dealt  with 
in  the  Christian  spirit  of  faith  and  love  which  is  the  key  to  the 
successful  resolution  of  all  our  difficulties. 

Besides  these  intellectual  difficulties  there  are  serious  moral 
difficulties  to  be  overcome.  There  is  the  inertia  which  seems  im- 
plicit in  institutional  life.  There  is  the  tendency  to  regard  the  insti- 
tution as  an  end,  and  not  simply  as  a  means.  There  are  the  tempta- 
tions which  accompany  office-holding  and  the  power  of  patronage. 
When  an  institution  becomes  as  strong  as  the  Christian  Church  and 
exercises  as  wide  an  influence,  other  motives  lead  men  to  join  its 
ranks  than  devotion  to  its  ideal.  Not  all  who  take  the  Christian 
vows  are  willing  to  pay  the  price  which  thorough  commitment  to 
their  principles  would  involve.    These  facts,  too,  we  must  frankly 

*  The  term  is  used  here  in  the  same  narrow  sense  in  which  the  word  "high 
churchman"  was  used  earlier  in  the  chapter. 


SPIRITUAL  SOCIETY  AND  ECCLESIASTICAL  INSTITUTION     191 

recognize  in  our  plans  for  the  future.  Any  programme  for  the 
Church  which  requires  the  sacrifice  of  prestige  or  of  official  position 
will  inevitably  meet  opposition. 

But  these  difficulties,  far  from  discouraging  us,  should  be  but 
so  many  motives  leading  us  to  a  more  complete  consecration.  What 
the  body  is  to  the  individual,  the  organized  Church  is  to  the  Chris- 
tian society.  It  is  the  organ  through  which  that  society  acts  upon 
its  human  environment  and  shapes  to  spiritual  uses  the  conflicting 
purposes  of  men  and  women.  Organized  government,  in  Church  as 
in  state,  is  an  instrument  of  education  by  which  men  are  trained  to 
discipline  their  private  likings  in  order  that  they  may  become  able 
to  work  together  and  to  reap  the  rewards  of  such  work  in  greater 
usefulness  and  happiness.  In  this  process,  as  in  the  simpler  process 
of  physical  education,  mistakes  are  made  and  dangers  incurred. 
But  there  is  no  way  of  escaping  this.    It  is  the  price  of  progress. 

It  may  be  that  to  some  readers  of  this  book  this  will  seem  a 
disappointing  conclusion.  It  may  seem  to  them  to  lay  too  hea\'y 
a  responsibility  on  human  shoulders.  They  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  think  of  the  Church  as  a  great  exception  to  God's  cus- 
tomary way  of  working  for  man  through  men.  They  are  asked  to 
see  in  it  one  more  example,  the  most  conspicuous,  of  the  way  in 
which  He  trains  His  children  by  responsibility.  The  writer  sympa- 
thizes with  their  disappointment.  He,  too,  wishes  there  were 
some  short  and  easy  road  to  the  great  consummation;  but  it 
seems  this  is  not  God's  way.  Wherever  we  look,  in  nature 
or  in  human  life,  we  see  God  using  finite  and  imperfect  instruments 
for  His  divine  and  beneficent  ends.  Why  should  it  surprise  us  to 
find  the  same  true  in  the  Church?  What  God  wished  to  do  for  men 
He  elected  to  do  through  men  with  all  their  weaknesses  and  limi- 
tations. We  may  wonder  at  the  risks  in  such  a  choice.  We  cannot 
but  accept  with  joy  the  splendid  responsibility  entrusted  to  us  and 
carry  forward  in  humility  and  in  hope  the  work  committed  to  our 
charge. 


PART  IV 
ORGANIZING  FOR  WORK 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  CHURCH   IN   THE   COMMUNITY 

1.     The  Fundamental  Importance  oj  the  Local  Church  for  the 
Forward  Movement  in  Christianity 

Thus  far  we  have  been  moving  largely  in  the  realm  of  theory. 
We  have  been  asking  ourselves  what  the  Church  of  Christ  would  be 
like  if  it  could  realize  its  divine  ideal,  and  what  are  the  methods 
which  must  be  followed  to  bridge  the  gap  between  ideal  and  present 
fact.  We  have  seen  that  as  the  institution  of  religion  the  Church 
exists  to  make  men  acquainted  with  God,  and  sharers  in  His  plan 
for  their  lives;  that  this  plan  has  to  do  not  with  individuals  simply, 
but  with  society,  and  that  the  churches  must  therefore  concern 
themselves  with  those  wider  questions  of  race,  of  class,  and  of 
nationality  which  divide  men  from  one  another  and  prevent  the 
realization  of  the  Christian  ideal.  We  have  seen  that  the  first  and 
most  effective  step  toward  this  realization  would  be  for  the  churches 
themselves  to  come  together.  It  remains  to  ask  what  chance  there 
is  that  this  will  come  to  pass.  What  are  the  churches  actually  doing 
and  what  are  they  likely  to  do  to  realize  the  ideal  of  a  Christian 
social  order?  ^ 

The  final  test  of  success  or  failure  for  the  Church  must  always 
remain  the  local  congregation.  The  local  congregation  introduces 
us  to  individual  men  and  women  under  the  normal  conditions  of 
life.  Here  is  laid  the  foundation  for  the  Church's  wider  ministry  in 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  formation  of  the  habit  of 
worship.  Here  children  are  gathered  into  the  Sunday  school  for 
religious  training  and  through  the  children  the  Church  reaches  the 
home  which  is  the  fountain-head  of  all  true  religious  life.  Here, 
too,  is  the  ultimate  source  of  the  financial  support  of  the  Church — 
the  recruiting  ground  to  which  all  national  organizations  must  go 
for  supplies  for  their  more  ambitious  projects.     From  the   local 

*  For  the  subjects  treated  in  this  and  the  following  chapters,  cf.  "Christian 
Unity:  Its  Principles  and  Possibilities,"  New  York,  1920. 

195 


196  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

church,  finally,  come  the  young  men  and  women  who  must  provide 
the  ministry  of  the  future.  To  form  an  intelligent  idea  of  the 
prospects  of  the  Church  as  a  whole  we  must  begin  by  studying  the 
local  congregation. 

In  the  local  church  we  meet  the  diflficulties  which  thwart  our 
effort  to  reafize  the  ideal  in  their  most  acute  form.  The  local  church 
stands  on  Main  Street,  and  is  exposed  to  all  the  influences  which  go 
to  make  up  the  life  of  the  average  community.  Here  the  individual 
displays  his  powers  for  harm  with  least  check.  Whatever  there  may 
be  of  provincialism  or  narrowness  or  self-satisfaction  in  the  com- 
munity at  large  is  reflected  in  the  local  church.  Yet  it  is  of  such 
churches  that  the  Church  consists,  and  it  is  in  the  strength  of  the 
spiritual  forces  found  in  them  that  we  must  go  forward,  if  we 
go  at  all. 

It  is  difficult  to  gather  reliable  information  as  to  what  goes  on 
in  our  local  churches.  Statistics  can  tell  us  something  of  their 
number;  of  their  relative  growth  and  decline;  of  the  number  of 
members  in  each  and  how  many  are  without  a  pastor;  of  the  serv- 
ices they  hold;  of  what  they  pay  for  their  own  support,  and  what 
they  give  to  the  Church  at  large.  But  these  statistics  mean  little 
without  interpretation,  and  for  this  interpretation  we  lack  a  stand- 
ard.^ All  that  we  can  hope  to  do  is  to  register  symptoms  and 
tendencies. 

^An  interesting  attempt  to  establish  such  a  standard  was  made  by  the 
Town  and  Country  Divisions  of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement.  In  co- 
operation with  the  Home  Missions  Council,  they  worked  out  a  "par  standard" 
for  the  local  church  covering  thirty-one  points,  all  of  which  are  regarded  as 
obtainable  by  many  town  and  country  churches.  These  include  "social  and 
recreational  equipment,  including  a  stage;  a  well-equipped  kitchen;  an  organ 
or  piano;  separate  Sunday-school  room  or  curtained  spaces  for  classes  or 
departments;  stereopticon  or  motion  picture  equipment;  adequate  sanitary 
toilets;  horse-sheds  or  parking  space  for  automobiles;  a  pastor  resident  within 
the  same  community  as  the  church,  who  gives  full  time  to  the  work  of  that 
church,  conducts  services  every  Sunday,  and  receives  a  salary  of  at  least 
$1,200  a  year  and  house;  an  annual  budget  for  all  money  raised;  a  yearly 
canvass  of  all  members;  sum  for  benevolences  equal  to  at  least  twenty-five 
per  cent,  of  the  current  expenses;  services  to  all  racial  and  occupational 
groups  which  have  not  their  own  Protestant  churches;  Sunday  school  the 
entire  year;  Sunday-school  enrollment  equal  to  church  membership;  provision 
for  bringing  pupils  into  the  church;  special  instruction  for  church  member- 
ship; teacher  training  or  normal  class;  provision  for  leadership  training;  sys- 
tematic evangelism,  aimed  to  reach  the  entire  community  and  all  classes  of 
the  community;  co-operation  with  other  churches  of  the  community;  organ- 
ized activities  for  age  and  sex  groups;  co-operation  with  church  boards  and 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  197 

On  the  face  of  it  the  situation  seems  discouraging.  We  hear 
constant  complaints  of  the  weakness  and  ineffectiveness  of  the  local 
church;  of  the  loss  of  its  former  influence  on  individuals  and  on  the 
community;  of  the  increasing  number  of  parishes  without  a  minis- 
ter; of  the  growing  difficulty  of  securing  candidates  to  take  the 
place  of  the  men  now  in  the  field.  This,  true  of  all  parts  of  the 
country  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  is  pre-eminently  true  of  the 
country  districts.  Here  we  see  the  effects  of  the  individualism  of 
our  American  Christianity  in  its  most  disheartening  aspect.  The 
overchurching  of  some  communities  and  the  all  but  total  abandon- 
ment of  others;  the  rivalry  of  denominations  for  promising  fields 
and  the  corresponding  neglect  of  those  which  are  more  needy;  the 
loss  of  the  natural  constituency  of  the  churches  through  the  steady 
flow  of  population  from  country  to  city  and  the  failure  to  devise 
any  effective  method  for  dealing  with  the  situation  thus  created: 
these  are  some  of  the  more  obvious  aspects  of  the  present  situation 
which  strike  the  superficial  observer. 

In  Gill  and  Pinchot's  study  of  the  country  churches  of  Ohio^ 
we  have  the  most  complete  study  at  present  available  of  the  con- 
dition to  which  this  lack  of  foresight  has  reduced  the  Church.^  It 
reveals  a  state  of  overchurching  which  is  almost  unbelievable,  with 
a  corresponding  state  of  weakness  and  inefficiency  in  the  churches 
which  exist.  In  the  entire  state  there  was  in  1918  an  average  of 
one  church  for  every  two  hundred  and  eighty  people.  Out  of  every 
hundred  of  these  churches  sixty  had  less  than  one  hundred  members ; 
fifty-five  less  than  seventy-five,  and  thirty-seven  not  more  than 
fifty  members.  Two-thirds  of  the  churches  had  no  resident  pastor, 
even  counting  in  all  the  rural  town  churches,  while  in  the  open 
country  only  three  hundred  and  sixty,  or  thirteen  per  cent  of  the 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seven  churches,  had  resident  pas- 
tors.   The  average  salary  paid  in  the  denomination  with  the  largest 

denominational  agencies;  service  to  the  entire  community;  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  members  with  a  definite  place  in  some  part  of  church  activities." 
Cf.  Four  Country  Churches  of  Distinction — Studies  in  Church  Efficiency, 
Educational  Department,  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  U.  S.  A. 

^"Six  Thousand  Country  Churches,"  New  York,  1919,  pp.  8-11. 

'  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  State  Federation  of  Ohio  has  prepared  a  revised 
survey  of  practically  every  county  in  Ohio  based  upon  the  material  gathered 
by  the  Interchurch  World  Movement.  This  is  in  course  of  publication  in  a 
series  of  small  pamphlets. 


198  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

number  of  country  churches  was  eight  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
dollars  and  free  use  of  a  parsonage;  in  the  denomination  with  the 
next  largest  number,  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven  dollars,  or  six 
hundred  and  eighty  dollars,  if  a  parsonage  was  provided. 

What  has  been  going  on  in  Ohio  has  been  going  on  with  varia- 
tions in  other  parts  of  the  country.  The  surveys  conducted  by  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions  through  its  Department  of 
Country  Life  found  essentially  the  same  conditions  in  each  of  the 
several  states  in  which  counties  were  surveyed.^  In  Missouri  only 
four  per  cent,  of  the  country  churches  had  resident  ministers.^  In  a 
recent  survey  of  two  central  counties  made  by  Dr.  Alva  Taylor, 
Secretary  of  the  Social  Service  Commission  of  the  Disciples,  not  a 
single  resident  pastor  was  found.^  Yet  in  these  same  communities 
there  may  be  two,  three,  or  even  four  or  five  different  church  build- 
ings standing  side  by  side.* 

It  is  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  disastrous  effect  of  such  a  state 
of  things.  The  loss  in  money  and  efficiency  is  obvious;  that  in 
prestige  is  even  greater.  How  can  we  expect  young  people  to  respect 
an  institution  which  conducts  its  affairs  in  so  haphazard  and  unbusi- 
nesslike a  way?    With  what  conscience  can  we  seek  recruits  for  a 

^  Such  surveys  have  been  published  for  counties  in  Ohio,  California,  Oregon, 
Arkansas,  Maryland,  and  Tennessee.  ^^ 

^Cf.  Alva  W.  Taylor,  "The  Community  Church  the  Only  Way  Out,  The 
Community  Churchman,  April,  1921. 

'Ibid.  ^     • ,  T»    r.- 

*Frora  a  number  of  cases  in  Missouri  furnished  by  Dr.  David  R.  Fiper, 
editor  of  the  Community  Churchman,  we  cite  the  following: 

"Callao,  population  526  according  to  1910  Census,  but  reckoned  now 
at  450.  Four  churches:  Methodist  Episcopal,  Southern  Baptist,  Presbyterian 
U.  S.  A.,  and  Disciples.  All  the  buildings  are  rotting  down  except  the  Disci- 
ples. Alexandria,  a  fishing  village  of  about  500,  has  three  churches:  Dis- 
ciples, Presbyterian  U.  S.,  and  Baptist,  and  no  resident  pastor.  Presby- 
terian building  in  fair  condition.  Others  dingy.  Mirable,  population  250, 
has  four  churches,  including  Presbyterian  U.  S.  A.,  and  Methodist.  Nov- 
elty, population  232,  has  four  churches:  Disciples,  Methodist  Episcopal, 
Methodist  Episcopal  South,  and  Baptist  (Southern).  There  is  an  open  country 
community  in  the  southwest  comer  of  Grundy  County,  near  the  village  of 
Hickory  where  within  a  radius  of  three  miles  are  six  church  buildings.  Two 
of  these  are  Baptist  and  one  Disciples.  The  farthest  of  these  churches  is  less 
than  three  and  a  half  miles  from  Hickory,  which  has  one  church:  Methodist 
Episcopal.    At  the  time  of  the  survey  last  fall,  no  church  had  a  resident 

preacher."  .  ,       ,  a  * 

Dr.  Piper  comments:  "I  do  not  know  whether  you  consider  these  as  flagrant 
examples.    They  are  the  normal  thing  in  northern  Missouri." 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  199 

ministry  which  offers  no  larger  or  more  inspiring  opportunity  of 
service? 

In  cities  and  larger  communities,  the  situation  is,  of  course, 
better;  but  here,  too,  there  are  disturbing  factors.  Most  noticeable 
is  perhaps  the  almost  complete  absence  in  most  of  the  Protestant 
denominations  of  any  recognized  parish  system.  Churches  are 
placed  at  haphazard  where  the  taste  and  inclination  of  the  members 
incline,  and  moved  to  a  more  desirable  location  when  the  shifting 
of  population  seems  to  make  such  a  change  advantageous.  As  a 
result  w^e  have  the  familiar  spectacle  of  overchurching  in  some 
quarters  and  no  churches  in  others.  The  Church  as  a  whole  fails 
to  impress  itself  upon  the  community  as  a  whole. 

Both  of  these  results  are  due  to  the  same  cause,  the  unrestricted 
individualism  which  has  hitherto  been  the  dominant  factor  in  our 
American  Christianity.  The  methods  which  were  appropriate  for 
dealing  with  a  situation  of  one  kind  have  shown  themselves  inade- 
quate to  meet  different  conditions.  In  an  earlier  study  ^  these  con- 
ditions were  summed  up  as  follows:  "What  is  needed  in  our  cities 
to-day  is  a  group  of  strong  churches,  with  ample  resources,  highly 
organized,  fully  manned,  well  equipped  for  social  and  educational 
as  well  as  for  distinctly  religious  work,  intelligently  linked  in  a 
well-planned  parish  system,  with  an  efficient  central  organization 
fitted  to  cope  with  new  conditions  as  they  arise,  and  flexible  enough 
to  try  needed  experiments  without  the  sacrifice  of  continuity  of 
purpose.  What  we  find  is  a  group  of  churches  planted  under  the 
conditions  of  an  earlier  day,  working  in  more  or  less  isolation  and 
independence,  having  no  definitely  marked  parish  lines,  but  minis- 
tering to  people  of  widely  different  localities,  held  together  by  a 
principle  of  elective  affinity,  and  feeling  already  the  drain  upon  their 
financial  and  moral  resources,  which  is  due  to  the  increased  cost 
of  living  and  the  consequent  transfer  of  many  of  their  most  loyal 
supporters  from  the  city  to  its  suburbs.  What  is  needed  in  the 
country',  where  conditions  are  exactly  the  reverse,  is  a  wise  husband- 
ing of  resources,  in  which  there  shall  be  one  church  to  a  community, 
and  in  which  all  waste  of  men  and  of  material  shall  be  avoided  in 
order  that  the  widest  possible  territory  may  be  most  effectively 
covered.    What  we  actually  see  is  a  group  of  struggling  churches 

*W.  Adams  Brown,  "Problems  and  Possibilities  of  American  Protestant- 
ism," Co7istructive  Quarterly,  June,  1913. 


200  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

planted,  many  of  them,  under  conditions  wholly  different  from  the 
present,  competing  one  with  another  for  a  support  which  would  be 
scarcely  adequate  properly  to  maintain  a  single  effective  church." 

This  state  of  things  has  been  made  possible  by  the  large  powers 
granted  to  the  local  congregation  in  the  matter  of  tenure  of  prop- 
erty. In  the  Protestant  churches  the  title  to  the  church  building 
and  other  permanent  funds  of  the  local  congregation  is  ordinarily 
vested  in  a  Board  of  Trustees  distinct  from  the  spiritual  officers  of 
the  church,  which  board  is  responsible  to  the  state  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  church's  finance.  In  churches  of  Congregational  or 
independent  polity,  this  control  is  absolute.  In  more  highly  or- 
ganized bodies  like  the  Presbyterian,  Lutheran,  and  Episcopal 
churches,  where  there  are  certain  creedal  requirements  obligatory 
on  the  ministers  of  the  denomination,  the  control  is  limited  in 
various  ways  which  it  would  take  too  long  to  describe.  But 
even  in  these  cases  the  power  of  the  denominational  authorities 
over  the  property  of  a  self-supporting  church  is  of  the  slightest 
and  is  seldom,  if  ever,  exercised.  Only  when  weaker  congregations 
seek  aid  from  the  missionary  agencies  of  the  Church  has  the 
parent  body  any  effective  means  of  controlling  policy,  and  here, 
as  we  have  seen,  denominational  pride  or  rivalry  often  makes  it 
difficult  to  use  this  power  in  any  effective  or  constructive  way. 

But  most  formidable  obstacles  can  be  overcome  if  the  will  to 
overcome  be  present,  and  this  will  is  abundantly  evident  in  the 
matter  which  we  are  discussing.  We  find  a  growing  consciousness 
of  the  responsibility  of  the  Church  to  its  environment,  whether  that 
environment  be  rural  or  urban.  We  find  also  an  increasing  tendency 
on  the  part  of  the  churches  to  come  together.  In  small  places  this 
tendency  meets  us  in  the  movement  for  the  community  church;  in 
towns  and  cities  it  appears  in  the  rapid  increase  in  the  number  and 
influence  of  federations  of  churches. 


2.    The  Expanding  Work  of  the  Local  Church — The  Country 

Church  as  Community  Centre — The  Institutional  Church 

— The  Mother  Church  with  Affiliated  Churches 

One  of  the  most  encouraging  features  of  the  church  life  of  our 
time  is  the  deeper  sense  of  the  Church's  responsibility  for  its  imme- 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  201 

diate  environment.  This  is  one  of  the  results  of  the  more  vivid 
social  consciousness  already  mentioned.  It  meets  us  both  in  city 
and  country  and  is  producing  significant  changes  in  the  activities 
of  the  Church  and,  what  is  still  more  important,  in  its  ideals.  The 
sense  of  responsibility  to  the  neighborhood  is  not  only  bringing 
churches  closer  together;  it  is  also  suggesting  to  them  new  things 
which  they  can  do  when  united.  They  are  facing  the  problem  of 
the  social  application  of  the  Gospel  in  the  place  where,  in  the  last 
analysis,  it  must  be  met  and  solved,  the  place  where  men  have  their 
homes  and  do  their  work  and  bring  up  their  children. 

In  the  country  districts  and  the  smaller  rural  communities,  this 
enlarged  sense  of  social  responsibility  is  closely  connected  with  the 
movement  for  a  community  church.  It  shows  itself  in  the  greater 
interest  of  the  minister  in  the  week-day  affairs  of  his  parishioners 
and  in  the  increasing  effort  to  make  the  church  a  centre  for  all 
healthful  social  activity  in  the  community.  A  type  of  minister  is 
coming  into  existence  who  takes  the  country  church  as  his  chosen 
field  because  he  is  convinced  that  it  is  the  key  to  the  life  of  the 
community  as  a  whole  and  that  its  many-sided  contacts  bring  him 
into  a  more  intimate  relationship  with  his  people  than  is  possible 
in  larger  centres.  Such  a  minister  identifies  himself  with  what  goes 
on  in  the  township  or  in  the  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  grange, 
interested  in  the  farmers'  problems;  often  he  has  a  bit  of  land  of 
his  own  and  knows  how  to  cultivate  it;  above  all,  he  is  the  con- 
necting link  between  the  local  interests  and  needs  of  his  community 
and  the  larger  life  without. 

In  the  cities  and  larger  towns  the  sense  of  the  church's  special 
responsibility  for  its  neighborhood  is  even  more  apparent.  Of  the 
many  forms  which  it  is  taking  two  are  typical:  (1)  the  institutional 
church;  (2)  the  mother  church  with  affiliated  churches. 

The  institutional  church  is  the  attempt  to  extend  the  activity  of 
the  local  church  till  it  includes  every  practicable  form  of  ministry 
to  the  bodies  and  the  minds  of  men.  In  neighborhoods  where  there 
are  inadequate  facilities  for  education  and  for  recreation  the  church 
puts  rooms  at  the  disposal  of  its  neighbors  and  provides  workers  to 
lead  the  various  activities  which  gather  about  the  centre  thus  pro- 
vided. St.  George's  Episcopal  Church,  in  New  York  City,  was  a 
pioneer  in  work  of  this  kind. 


202  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Almost  all  the  typical  social  and  philanthropic  activities  of  our 
time  can  now  be  found  in  the  programme  of  an  institutional  city- 
church:  boys'  clubs,  girls'  clubs,  and  clubs  for  older  men  and  women, 
classes  in  language,  citizenship,  history  and  literature,  good  govern- 
ment clubs,  societies  for  civic  and  social  reform,  clinics  and  day 
nurseries,  dramatic  societies  and  music  classes.  To  read  the  year 
book  of  such  a  church  would  be  an  illuminating  experience  to  those 
who  think  of  the  church  as  an  outworn  institution.^ 

Because  of  this  many-sided  and  beneficent  work,  the  institu- 
tional church  is  often  regarded  as  the  best  model  for  the  church 
everywhere.  It  seems  a  scandal  to  invest  largely  in  buildings  which 
are  used  but  one  day  in  the  week,  especially  if  these  buildings  are 
relieved  of  taxation.  To  justify  such  exemption  it  is  felt  that  the 
church  should  be  the  centre  of  every  form  of  helpful  activity, 
through  the  week  as  on  Sunday,  in  the  city  no  less  than  in  the 
country.  The  settlement  is  held  up  to  the  church  as  a  model,  or  at 
least  as  a  necessary  supplement,  for  the  settlement  is  simply  doing 
in  a  voluntary  and  more  or  less  haphazard  fashion  what  the  church 
ought  to  have  been  doing  long  ago. 

There  is  certainly  much  to  be  said  for  this  view.  If  a  man's 
Christianity  means  anything  it  should  be  as  apparent  in  his  life 
during  the  week  as  in  his  conduct  on  Sunday.  The  church  as  the 
social  expression  of  the  Christian  religion  may  be  expected  to  illus- 
trate this  fact  in  its  organized  life.  It  does  not,  however,  follow  that 
because  the  institutional  church  is  at  present  indispensable  it  will 
always  be  equally  necessary.  As  the  Gospel  gains  ground  and  its 
authority  is  increasingly  recognized,  we  should  expect  that  all  the 
institutions  in  society  will  reflect  the  new  spirit.  It  will  no  longer 
be  necessary  for  the  church  to  do  the  work  of  school  and  clinic  and 
social  club,  for  the  existing  agencies  of  the  community  will  provide 
every  needed  facility  for  health,  education,  and  amusement.  When 
the  community  has  become  so  completely  Christianized  that  the 
only  thing  left  for  the  church  to  do  is  to  provide  a  centre  of  social 

^  Of  special  interest  is  the  recent  revival  of  the  New  Testament  ideal  of 
bodily  healing  as  a  part  of  a  religious  ministry.  We  owe  to  the  amazing 
success  of  Christian  Science  a  strong  impetus  to  regard  health  as  a  synthesis 
to  which  spirit  as  well  as  mind  must  contribute.  Not  a  few  modem  churches 
have  clinics  where  doctor,  trained  nurse,  and  minister  work  side  by  side,  and  in 
such  experiments  as  the  Emmanuel  Movement  and  other  similar  movements 
the  health-giving  effect  of  religious  faith  is  receiving  new  demonstration. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  203 

worship,  it  will  be  a  most  convincing  proof  that  the  church  haa 
succeeded  in  its  task.^ 

A  second  way  of  applying  the  social  Gospel  in  the  local  com- 
munity is  through  the  mother  church  with  affiliated  churches. 
There  are  many  churches  located  in  centres  which  are  adequately 
provided  with  social  agencies,  and  do  not  need  the  facilities  of  the 
institutional  church;  but  they  adjoin  other  neighborhoods  which  are 
not  so  well  supplied.  In  such  circumstances  it  is  often  possible  for 
the  stronger  church  to  establish  an  outpost,  through  which  it  can 
share  its  larger  resources  with  those  who  are  less  fortunate  and 
supply  the  means  and  the  workers  to  maintain  the  varied  ministry 
of  the  institutional  church. 

It  is  essential  to  the  success  of  this  experiment  that  the  new 
church  centre  should  be  a  real  church  with  its  o^ti  officers  and  its 
direct  responsibility,  not  a  mere  mission  dependent  for  its  policy 
upon  the  will  of  the  parent  body.  The  affiliated  church  should 
command  the  services  of  a  first-class  minister  and  be  able  to  take 
its  place  with  the  other  churches  of  the  city  in  the  larger  co-opera- 
tive movement  to  which  reference  will  presently  be  made.  Only  in 
this  way  can  it  win  the  support  of  the  self-respecting  people  to  whom 
it  ministers  and  successfully  meet  the  criticism  so  often  directed 
against  American  Protestantism,  that  it  is  the  church  of  a  class. 

A  conspicuous  example  of  a  successful  affiliation  of  this  kind  is 
the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York  City,  with  its  two 
affiliated  churches,  Christ  Church  and  the  Church  of  the  Covenant. 
Each  of  these  three  centres  has  its  independent  organization  and 
activities.  Together  they  provide  a  ministry  which  spans  the  city 
from  river  to  river.^ 

A  different  application  of  the  principle  of  affiliation  is  furnished 
by  the  American  Parish  on  the  upper  East  Side  in  New  York  City. 
Here  a  group  of  foreign-speaking  churches  are  associated  with  an 

^  Where  the  community  in  which  a  Protestant  church  is  carrying  on  an 
institutional  work  is  predommantly  Catholic  or  Jewish  it  is  not  always  easy 
to  hold  the  balance  between  the  function  of  the  church  as  a  representative 
of  Protestant  Christianity  and  its  wider  activities  as  a  community  centre. 
Some  students  of  the  problem  feel  the  difficulties  so  acutely  as  to  question 
whether  the  two  kinds  of  activity  can  wisely  be  carried  on  under  the  same 
auspices.  They  argue  that  the  same  expenditure  of  funds  and  leadership 
would  yield  larger  results  both  for  the  community  and  the  church  if  each 
enterprise  operated  from  its  own  centre. 

'  Cf .  Year  Book  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York,  1922 


204  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

English-speaking  church  through  a  Board  of  Pastors  under  the 
chairmanship  of  the  pastor  of  the  latter,  all  the  churches  receiving 
support  in  money  and  workers  from  the  other  churches  in  the 
Presbytery  working  through  the  Church  Extension  Committee.^ 

An  advantage  of  the  system  of  affiliated  churches  is  that  it 
makes  possible  a  multiple  pastorate.  In  so  extensive  a  work,  men 
of  different  talent  and  training  may  find  their  place.  The  wisdom 
and  judgment  which  come  with  long  years  of  experience  are  needed 
to  balance  the  fire  and  enthusiasm  of  youth.  For  the  minister  of 
such  a  parish  the  dead-line  has  no  terrors,  for  he  has  something  to 
give  which  is  needed  for  the  largest  success  of  the  whole. 

In  the  extension  of  this  system,  and  its  application  in  varying 
degree  to  the  different  conditions  which  obtain  in  the  country,  is  to 
be  found  one  way  of  meeting  the  difficulty,  referred  to  in  an  earlier 
chapter,  of  the  future  of  the  older  man  in  the  ministry.  When  we 
cease  to  make  the  individual  congregation  our  sole  method  of 
measurement  it  will  be  possible  for  us  to  work  out  combinations  in 
which  men  of  different  ages  as  well  as  of  different  temperament  and 
training  can  find  their  appropriate  place. 

This  consciousness  of  common  responsibility  for  community 
problems  is  having  its  reflex  influence  upon  the  relation  of  the 
churches  to  one  another.  The  federation  movement,  of  which  we 
shall  presently  speak,  is  one  example  of  this  influence,  but  it  is 
paralleled  by  a  similar  movement  within  each  denomination. 
Where  a  city-wide  organization  already  exists,  as  in  churches  of 
Episcopal  and  Presbyterian  polity,  it  is  being  more  effectively 
utilized.  Where  it  was  lacking,  as  in  the  case  of  Congregational 
and  Baptist  bodies,  it  has  been  created.  More  and  more  it  is 
recognized  that  as  no  congregation  can  solve  its  own  problems  alone, 
so  each  is  responsible  for  helping  the  others  to  meet  the  larger 
demands  which  are  laid  upon  all  alike. 

So  our  study  of  the  enlarging  work  of  the  Church  leads  us  inevi- 
tably to  the  other  tendency  of  which  we  have  spoken,  the  move- 
ment for  unity.  What  can  be  done  by  the  local  church  alone,  even 
with  the  best  will  in  the  world,  is  limited.  The  last  illustration  we 
have  used — that  of  the  American  Parish — is  the  best  proof  of  this. 
What  is  being  done  by  the  churches  of  this  parish  is  made  possible 

*  Cf.  "The  Church  and  the  City."  An  account  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  in  New  York  Presbytery.    New  York,  1917. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  205 

because  of  the  support  of  the  presbytery  as  a  whole.  The  more 
earnestly  we  try  to  enlarge  the  work  of  the  local  church  and  to 
increase  its  usefulness,  the  more  clearly  we  perceive  that  without 
the  co-operation  of  all  the  churches  our  effort  is  doomed  to  failure. 
Apart  from  the  closer  denominational  relationship  just  referred  to, 
this  co-operation  may  take  two  main  forms  according  to  the  size 
of  the  community  with  which  we  are  concerned — that  of  the  commu- 
nity church  and  that  of  the  federation  of  churches. 

3.     The  Movement  for  the  Community  Church — Its  Present  Status 

and  Possible  Lines   of  Future  Development — The 

Three  Forms  of  the  Community  Church  ^ 

By  the  community  church  in  the  sense  in  which  we  shall  use  the 
term  here,  we  mean  a  church  which  aims  to  provide  religious  facili- 
ties for  all  the  people  who  live  in  a  definite  locality,  so  that  there 
will  be  no  need  within  that  geographical  area  for  any  other  Protes- 
tant religious  organization.^  It  is  evident  that  the  community  church 
as  so  defined,  must  be  confined  to  places  with  a  limited  population. 
In  cities  and  larger  towns  other  means  must  be  found  to  express  the 
unity  of  Christians. 

The  term  "community  church"  is  sometimes  used  in  a  different 
sense  to  describe  such  an  experiment  as  is  being  carried  on  by 
Dr.  John  Haynes  Holmes  in  New  York  City,  where  a  number  of 
persons,  desiring  an  even  broader  basis  for  church  membership  than 
that  afforded  by  their  previous  association  with  Unitarianism,  have 
founded  a  religious  society  with  no  creed  or  platform  other  than 
membership  in  the  community  and  the  desire  to  do  good  to  one's 
fellowmen.^  Such  a  use  of  the  term,  however  legitimate,  is  for  our 
present  purpose  confusing  and  we  shall  ignore  it  here. 

We  have  already  sufficiently  described  the  situation  which  the 
community  church  is  designed  to  correct.  It  is  the  overchurching 
which  is  the  natural  result  of  the  unrestricted  operation  of  the  de- 

'Cf.  John  Haynes  Holmes,  "New  Churches  for  Old."  New  York,  1922; 
Henry  E.  Jackson,  "The  Community  Church,"  Boston,  1919;  "Christian  Unity, 
Its  Principles  and  Possibilities,"  pp.  9&-110. 

*The  reasons  which  make  it  necessary  for  us  to  restrict  our  consideration 
to  Protestant  agencies  have  been  already  explained.  For  what  can  be  done 
in  the  way  of  co-operation  between  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics  of.  pp. 

271,  272. 

'The  Statement  of  Purpose  is  as  follows: 

"This  church  is  an  institution  of  religion  dedicated  to  the  service  of 
humanity. 


206  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

nominational  competition  we  have  already  described.  In  the  flow 
of  population  westward  the  new-comers  brought  their  churches  with 
them.  If  the  community  seemed  at  the  time  too  small  to  absorb  the 
liberal  supply  of  ecclesiastical  privileges  which  they  provided,  they 
looked  to  the  future  to  justify  their  action.  They  were  building  not 
for  a  few  hundreds  on  the  ground,  but  for  the  pretentious  town  that 
was  presently  to  be.  Denominational  rivalry  reinforced  local  pride 
with  a  result  which  we  know  only  too  well.  When  early  hopes 
were  disappointed,  and  the  steady  sweep  from  country  to  city  began 
to  empty  the  villages  and  little  towns  of  the  young  people  on  whom 
future  growth  depended,  the  result  was  inevitable. 

It  is  a  hopeful  sign  that  so  many  people  are  awake  to  the  danger 
of  the  situation,  and  are  making  plans  to  meet  it.  These  plans 
agree  in  this,  that  the  remedy  for  overchurching  is  unity.  If  there 
are  not  Christians  enough  in  any  one  place  to  sustain  more  than 
one  strong  church,  then  let  them  come  together  and  make  one.  The 
community  church  is  the  name  we  give  to  a  church  which  is  the 
outcome  of  such  a  union.  It  has  three  main  forms:  (1)  the  union 
church;  (2)  the  federated  church;  (3)  the  denominational  church 
serving  the  entire  community. 

By  the  union  church  we  mean  a  church  which  includes  all  the 
persons  in  its  neighborhood  without  regard  to  their  denominational 
affiliation.  In  some  cases  it  proposes  its  own  creed;  in  others  it 
ignores  creed  altogether.  In  some  its  Christian  character  is  em- 
phasized and  its  members  feel  in  sympathy  with  the  religious  his- 
tory of  the  past.  In  others  the  point  of  view  is  radical,  and  the  ties 
which  bind  it  to  the  older  churches  of  the  loosest. 

It  is  clear  that  a  church  of  this  kind  has  significant  points  of 
contact  with  the  other  kind  of  community  church  described  above. 
It  is  like  it  in  its  composite  character,  and,  above  all,  in  its  lack 

"Seeking  truth  in  freedom,  it  strives  to  apply  it  in  love  for  the  cultivation 
of  character,  the  fostering  of  fellowship  in  work  and  worship,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  righteous  social  order  which  shall  bring  abundant  life  to  men. 

"Knowing  not  sect,  class,  nation  or  race,  it  welcomes  each  to  the  service 
of  all." 

Bond  oj  Union  Inscribed  on  the  Church  Book 

"We,  the  undersigned,  accepting  the  stated  Purpose  of  this  church,  do  join 
ourselves  together  that  we  may  help  one  another,  may  multiply  the  power  of 
each  through  mutual  fellowship,  and  may  thereby  promote  most  effectively 
the  cause  of  truth,  righteousness,  and  love  in  the  world. 

"Persons  signing  the  above  Bond  of  Union  are  accepted  as  members  of  the 
church." 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  207 

of  denominational  connection;  but  it  differs  from  it  in  being  really 
and  not  simply  in  ideal  inclusive.  It  is,  in  fact,  what  in  name  it 
professes  to  be,  a  community  church. 

It  is  difficult  to  know  how  many  such  churches  there  are. 
Springing  up  as  they  do  to  meet  local  conditions,  and  depending  for 
their  success  upon  the  initiative  of  individuals,  they  are  only  be- 
ginning to  develop  the  corporate  consciousness  which  will  make  it 
possible  for  the  movement  to  give  an  intelligent  account  of  itself. 
In  Massachusetts  there  are  more  than  forty  such  churches  which 
meet  in  annual  conference  under  the  guidance  of  the  Massachusetts 
State  Federation  of  Churches.^  In  other  states  the  movement  has 
not  developed  so  rapidly,  but  it  is  growing  and  has  its  representa- 
tives in  all  parts  of  the  United  States.^ 

The  advantages  of  the  community  church  of  this  type  are  those 
of  the  Congregational  system  in  its  more  thoroughgoing  form.  It 
puts  full  responsibility  upon  the  people  of  the  community,  derives 
its  final  authority  from  them,  and  leaves  them  free  to  shape  their 
institutions  of  belief  and  worship  in  any  form  to  which  the  leading 
of  the  present  Spirit  shall  seem  to  point.  On  the  other  hand,  its 
disadvantages  are  those  of  Congregationalism  in  every  form.  Its 
ties  with  the  past  being  of  the  loosest,  it  misses  the  steadying  influ- 
ence that  comes  from  tradition  and  enters  an  age  which  has  defi- 
nitely broken  with  individualism  without  any  effective  nation-wide 
agencies  of  unity.  What  the  future  of  the  movement  is  to  be  and 
how  large  its  contribution  to  the  life  of  the  Church  as  a  whole,  will 
depend  largely  upon  the  spirit  in  which  its  representatives  approach 
this  final  test  of  all  organized  life — the  test  which  is  furnished  by 
the  necessity  of  living  and  working  together. 

It  is  too  soon  to  predict  what  the  outcome  of  the  experiment  will 
be.  Two  possibilities  seem  open;  one,  that  the  union  church  will 
form  the  nucleus  of  a  new  denomination  of  a  more  liberal  and  in- 
clusive character — a  denomination  that,  in  its  desire  to  be  catholic, 
is  ready  to  overlook  even  such  ancient  distinctions  as  that  between 

*  While  forty-one  such  churches  were  listed  by  the  Massachusetts  Federa- 
tion of  Churches,  only  twenty-two  complied  with  the  request  for  statistical 
reports  in  January,  1921.  The  last  annual  conference  (the  tenth  in  number) 
was  held  in  Hough's  Neck  in  June,  1921. 

'Dr.  Piper,  editor  of  the  Community  Churchman,  states  that  his  card 
index  contains  the  names  of  325  churches  of  this  type.  This  list,  however, 
includes  both  consolidated  churches  and  those  which  have  been  independent 
since  their  formation.    Of  the  latter  there  are  known  to  be  144. 


208  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Christian  and  Jew.^  The  other  and  the  more  likely  is  that,  like  so 
many  other  liberal  movements,  it  will  fulfil  itself  through  its  reflex 
influence  on  the  older  churches. 

There  are,  to  be  sure,  some  advocates  of  the  community  church 
who  predict  for  it  a  still  more  ambitious  future.  Thus  Dr.  Joseph 
McAfee  2  looks  for  a  time  when  the  older  denominational  distinc- 
tions will  no  longer  be  tolerated,  and  membership  in  the  community 
carry  with  it  ipso  facto  membership  in  the  church.  But  this  would 
be  simply  to  repeat  over  again  in  the  name  of  democracy  the  ex- 
periment of  the  state  church  against  which  American  Protestantism 
was  a  protest.  So  long  as  men  sincerely  differ  in  their  religious 
convictions,  these  convictions  must  somehow  find  expression  in  or- 
ganization, and  the  church  must  take  account  in  its  plans  for  its 
own  constitution  of  the  existing  differences  in  the  beliefs  and  prac- 
tices of  religious  people.  This  insight  determines  the  other  forms 
of  community  church  which  we  have  still  to  consider — the  federated 
church,  and  the  denominational  church  functioning  for  the  whole 
community. 

The  federated  church  takes  its  departure  from  the  existing  de- 
nominational differences  and  makes  place  for  these  within  the  mem- 
bership of  the  united  church.  It  does  not  ask  the  Congregationalist 
to  give  up  his  Congregationalism,  or  the  Methodist  his  Methodism. 
On  the  contrary,  it  recognizes  this  membership  on  its  rolls  and  in 
the  apportionment  of  its  benevolences.  When  a  new  convert  joins 
the  church  he  is  enrolled  in  the  denomination  of  his  profession. 
When  a  pastor  is  called  he  may  belong  to  any  one  of  the  commun- 
ions represented  in  the  membership  and  is  so  entered  on  its  minis- 
terial roll.  But  he  is  called  to  be  pastor  of  the  united  church  and 
ministers  to  all  its  people  alike.  Of  churches  of  this  kind  there  are 
known  to  be  between  two  hundred  and  three  hundred,^  and  when 

*The  example  of  the  Disciples  is  instructive  here.  Like  the  community 
church,  they  began  as  a  protest  against  denominationalism.  Their  hope  was, 
by  a  return  to  primitive  Christianity,  to  find  some  simple  and  inclusive  form 
in  which  all  Christians  could  unite.  In  fact,  however,  the  logic  of  events  has 
forced  them  against  their  will  into  their  present  position  of  a  denomination 
among  denominations. 

''New  Republic,  January  18,  1919,  pp.  331  sq.  The  same  point  of  view  has 
been  more  fully  set  forth  by  Dr.  John  Haynes  Holmes  in  his  recent  book, 
"New  Churches  for  Old,"  New  York,  1922. 

*The  list  in  the  office  of  the  Home  Missions  Council  contains  300  names; 
that  of  Dr.  Piper,  236.  Conditions  in  these  communities  are  so  constantly 
changing,  Lowever,  that  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  reliable  statistics. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  209 

one  considers  the  difficulties  in  such  an  arrangement,  on  the  whole 
they  are  functioning  with  surprising  success.^ 

Yet  in  the  long  run  it  is  doubtful  if  this  method  will  perma- 
nently solve  the  difficulty.  It  is  instructive  to  remember  that  in  the 
Plan  of  Union  of  1810,  Congregationalists  and  Presbyterians  applied 
the  principle  of  the  federated  church  to  their  home-missionary 
programme;  but  the  time  came  when  both  churches  agreed  that  the 
method  had  outlived  its  usefulness  and  each  resumed  its  original 
independence  of  action.^  The  stronger  a  church  grows,  the  more  it 
will  desire  a  special  outlet  for  its  energies.  The  division  of  funds 
between  different  denominational  boards  will  become  increasingly 
unsatisfactory,  and  the  lack  of  a  unified  missionary  programme 
even  more  so.  These  difficulties  can  be  successfully  overcome  only 
when  the  churches  as  a  whole  recognize  their  common  responsibility 
and  provide  an  interdenominational  programme  of  work  in  support 
of  which  churches  of  different  denominations  can  unite.  Until  this 
is  done  the  federated  church  must  remain  a  temporary  makeshift 
— useful  as  pointing  the  way  to  something  better.^ 

There  remains  a  third  form  of  the  community  church  which, 
if  it  can  be  had,  is  simpler  than  either  of  the  preceding.  It  is  the 
denominational  church  functioning  for  the  entire  community.  It  is 
possible  for  a  congregation  of  any  one  of  the  larger  Protestant 
bodies  so  to  recognize  its  obligations  to  the  community  as  a  whole 
and  so  to  plan  for  the  discharge  of  its  communal  responsibility  that 
Christians  of  other  denominations  will  feel  that  they  can  join  it 
without  loss  of  self-respect,  and  find  their  religious  needs  and  as- 

*Cf.  "Christian  Unity:  Its  Principles  and  Possibilities,"  pp.  99-101. 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  287.  "By  the  provisions  of  this  agreement,  which  applied  to 
home-missionary  soil,  each  member  in  a  mixed  church  should  have  the  priv- 
ileges of  the  polity  of  his  choice.  Each  church  should  choose  a  'standing 
committee'  which  should  exercise  the  ordinary  rights  of  the  session,  and  the 
delegate  of  such  a  standing  committee  should  have  full  recognition  £is  a  ruling 
elder  if  sent  to  a  presbytery.  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  ministers 
could  be  indifferently  pastors  of  Presbyterian,  Congregational,  or  mixed 
churches,  but  should  be  answerable  for  discipline  according  to  the  polity  they 
represented." 

^The  term  "federated  church"  is  sometimes  used  in  a  different  sense  to 
describe  (o)  two  churches  of  different  denominations  employing  the  services 
of  a  single  pastor;  (6)  a  church  in  which  a  pastor  of  one  denomination  serves 
a  church  of  another;  (c)  churches  having  as  temporary  members  persons  of 
different  denominations  as  in  the  case  of  the  American  churches  in  Europe 
or  in  the  Canal  Zone. 


210  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

pirations  satisfactorily  met.  There  are  doubtless  many  hundreds, 
it  may  be  thousands,  of  such  churches.^  But  the  movement  meets 
with  two  obstacles  which  cannot  be  overcome  without  assistance 
from  without:  (1)  the  possible  opposition  of  the  denominational 
authorities;  (2)  the  difficulty  of  providing  in  the  same  service  for 
the  needs  of  members  of  the  liturgical  and  of  the  non-liturgical 
churches. 

One  of  the  great  advantages  of  the  denominational  community 
church  is  that  it  can  count  on  the  help  and  support  of  the  denomi- 
national Board  of  Missions.  In  weaker  communities  this  is  an 
asset  of  no  slight  importance.  But  the  denominational  connection 
may  be  a  liability  as  well  as  an  asset,  and  be  used  to  prevent  Chris- 
tians coming  together  as  well  as  to  help  them  to  do  so.  There  are 
communities  to-day  not  strong  enough  adequately  to  support  a 
single  Christian  church,  into  which  the  money  of  more  than  one 
Christian  denomination  is  being  poured.  Such  waste  of  resources 
is  little  short  of  criminal,  and  it  is  a  happy  sign  that  the  conscience 
of  Christians  is  increasingly  setting  itself  against  it. 

All  the  more  refreshing  is  it  to  note  instances  in  which  the  influ- 
ence of  the  central  bodies  is  being  thrown  in  the  interest  of  co- 
operation and  comity.  Through  such  enlightened  leadership  Maine 
has  long  been  grappling  successfully  with  the  problem  of  the  local 
church.  The  same  is  true  of  Massachusetts.  In  the  State  of  Ver- 
mont not  less  than  eighty-two  churches  in  thirty-eight  localities 
have  gone  on  a  community  basis  during  the  past  four  years.  The 
most  recent  example  of  intelligent  planning  is  Montana,  where  in 
1919  the  Home  Mission  authorities  of  the  State  combined  in  an 
"Every  Community  Service  Endeavor."  One  of  the  features  of 
this  plan  is  the  development,  wherever  possible,  of  the  community 
church  of  the  denominational  type.^  These  are  but  the  most  strik- 
ing examples  of  a  movement  which  is  nation-wide  and  which  is  full 
of  promise  for  the  future  of  Christianity.^ 

^The  line  which  separates  such  a  denominational  community  church  from 
a  denominational  church  of  the  conventional  type  is  so  vague  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  reliable  statistics.  Dr.  Piper  puts  the  number  above  500.  A 
list  furnished  me  by  the  Massachusetts  Federation  of  Churches  reckons  240 
in  that  state  alone. 

^  Cf.  "What  Montana  has  Done  and  is  Doing  in  Christian  Co-operation." 
Home  Missions  Council.  New  York,  1921. 

^A  recent  editorial  in  the  Christian  Century  (December  29,  1921),  while 
recognizing  the  good  done  by  this  movement,  sounds  a  needed  warning  against 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  211 

More  difficult  to  deal  with  is  the  other  obstacle,  that  which 
grows  out  of  sincere  difference  in  religious  conviction  and  experi- 
ence. While  it  is  true  that  most  Protestant  Christians  can  pass 
from  one  denomination  to  another  without  the  sense  of  serious  loss, 
there  are  exceptions  to  the  rule.  In  churches  like  the  Episcopal 
and  Lutheran,  which  have  cultivated  a  strict  sense  of  denomina- 
tional responsibility,  many  persons  feel  recreant  to  their  Christian 
duty  unless  they  can  have  access  to  the  sacrament  in  the  particular 
form  in  which  they  are  accustomed  to  receive  it  from  a  minister  of 
their  own  communion.  The  same  is  true  of  those  Baptists  who 
practise  close  communion.  In  this  fact  is  the  most  serious  obstacle 
to  the  present  movement  for  the  community  church. 

We  have  in  mind  a  community  of  four  thousand  people  in  which 
a  single  church  has  been  ministering  with  acceptance  to  the  Protes- 
tant Christians  within  its  limits.  Members  of  no  less  than  twenty- 
one  communions,  including  the  Episcopalians,  who  stand  fourth  in 
its  membership,  unite  in  its  service  and  contribute  to  its  support. 
It  has  a  neighborhood  house  which  cares  for  the  social  and  recrea- 
tional needs  of  the  whole  community.  It  has  a  minister  who  com- 
mands the  confidence  and  affection  of  all  who  know  him.  Yet  this 
happy  state  of  things  is  threatened  because  a  few  individuals  in  the 
community  feel  that  they  cannot  do  justice  to  their  religious  con- 
victions without  having  a  church  of  their  own. 

Such  facts  give  significance  to  the  proposed  Concordat  between 
the  Episcopal  and  Congregational  churches.  This  is  an  arrange- 
ment by  which,  without  sacrificing  his  standing  as  a  Congregational 
minister,  a  man  may  receive  Episcopal  ordination  for  the  purpose 
of  ministering  to  those  Episcopalians  in  his  congregation  who  desire 
to  receive  the  sacrament  from  a  priest  of  their  own  communion.^ 
Unsatisfactory  as  a  permanent  solution  of  the  problem  of  Christian 
unity,  this  would  relieve  the  strain  in  many  a  local  situation,  and 
it  is  much  to  be  hoped  that  no  obstacle  will  prevent  the  experiment 
from  being  tried. 

interpreting  the  principle  of  denominational  comity  too  narrowly.  It  reminds 
us  that  in  the  matter  of  church  relationships  there  is  no  such  thmg  as  a 
vested  right.  The  denomination  exists  to  serve  the  community,  not  vice 
versa;  and  in  the  complicated  situation  which  faces  us  to-day  no  solution 
which  proceeds  on  the  basis  of  mathematical  equivalents  can  be  satisfactory. 
*  For  the  text  of  the  proposed  Concordat  cf .  Manning,  "The  Call  to  Unity," 
New  York,  1920,  pp.  144-152. 


212  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

But  the  denominational  church  alone,  useful  as  it  may  be,  can- 
not solve  the  problems  of  the  community.  The  difficulties  already 
noted  in  the  case  of  the  federated  churches  reappear  here  and  the 
remedy  is  the  same.  The  denominations  themselves  must  come  to- 
gether and  create  some  central  missionary  agency  through  which 
the  common  work  to  which  all  alike  are  committed  can  be  carried 
on.  When  this  central  agency  has  been  created,  denominational 
rivalry  will  be  attacked  in  its  citadel.  If  all  are  working  together 
through  the  same  agency  for  the  same  end,  it  will  not  make  much 
difference  through  which  denominational  treasury  the  river  of 
benevolence  reaches  the  common  reservoir. 

A  factor  which  is  destined  to  play  a  far  larger  part  in  the  life 
of  the  local  church  in  the  future  is  the  growing  influence  of  women. 
In  the  church  at  large  it  may  be  possible  by  the  mere  force  of 
tradition  or  inertia  to  continue  present  methods  for  a  considerable 
time.  There  are  men  enough  to  fill  the  existing  positions  without 
calling  upon  the  women.  Moreover,  the  latter  find  scope  for  their 
expanding  activities  in  their  own  boards,  many  of  which  raise  large 
sums  of  money  and  employ  a  large  number  of  missionaries.  In  the 
local  church  this  is  not  the  case.  Here  all  the  resources  available 
are  insufficient  to  meet  the  need.  The  spectacle  of  two  or  three 
incompetent  or  inefficient  men  controlling  the  policy  of  a  church 
in  which  all  the  energy  and  much  of  the  spiritual  force  is  supplied 
by  women  is  too  anomalous  to  continue.  Sooner  or  later  place  will 
be  found  for  the  women  on  the  official  boards  of  the  local  church. 
In  some  denominations,  as  we  have  seen,^  this  has  already  been 
done,  and  when  it  becomes  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception  we 
may  expect  a  new  accession  of  energy  and  of  devotion  that  will 
mean  much  for  the  Church. 

The  movement  for  the  community  church  is  still  in  its  infancy. 
The  denominations  have  recognized  its  importance  by  creating  de- 
partments of  rural  life,  country  church,  and  the  like.^  It  has  en- 
listed the  active  support  of  the  leaders  of  the  agricultural  colleges 
and  other  influential  persons  who  realize  the  fundamental  place 
held  by  the  farmer  in  our  national  life.  It  has  already  found  an 
organ  of  expression  in  the  Community  Churchman,  a  quarterly 

'  E.  g.,  The  Methodists,  cf.  p.  30. 
*Cf.  Chapter  XII. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  213 

journal  published  in  Excelsior  Springs,  Missouri,  which  represents, 
besides  the  denominational  churches  already  mentioned,  more  than 
five  hundred  community  churches  in  the  technical  sense. ^  Through 
this  and  similar  agencies  experience  will  be  shared  and  standards 
developed,  and  with  the  co-operation  of  all  who  are  interested  we 
may  confidently  expect  great  progress  in  the  near  future  in  grappling 
with  this  most  serious  and  perplexing  of  all  the  problems  of  our 
American  Christianity. 

4.    The  Federation  of  Churches — Its  History  and  Present  Status — 
Larger  Aspects  of  the  Federation  Movement  ^ 

The  second  form  of  the  movement  for  local  unity  is  the  federa- 
tion or — as  it  is  becoming  more  common  to  call  it — the  council  of 
churches.  This  is  the  most  practicable  way  of  securing  co-opera- 
tion in  those  larger  centres  where  the  religious  needs  of  the  com- 
munity can  no  longer  be  met  by  a  single  church. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  rehearse  the  causes  which  make  some 
form  of  federation  necessary.  In  our  large  cities  we  have  all  the  evils 
with  which  denominationalism  has  plagued  the  smaller  communities 
and  others  besides.  In  some  quarters  we  find  too  many  churches; 
in  others  too  few.  Everywhere  we  discover  needless  competition 
and  waste.  What  is  more  serious  still,  we  find  the  churches  lacking 
moral  and  spiritual  influence  on  the  community  as  a  whole.  What 
they  might  do  in  the  cause  of  civic  and  social  righteousness  if  they 
were  united,  is  undone.  What  they  try  to  do  in  the  sphere  in  which 
they  are  actually  working  is  twice  done  or  half  done.  To  correct 
these  evils  a  few  earnest  and  ardent  spirits  a  few  years  ago  ini- 
tiated the  movement  which  we  now  know  as  the  federation  of 
churches. 

The  federation  of  churches  differs  from  the  federal  movement 
in  the  larger  sense  in  which  we  have  already  considered  it  in  that 
while  the  latter  deals  with  the  denomination  as  a  whole,  this  is 
confined  to  the  local  congregation.  The  movement  has  passed 
through  a  period  of  experiment  in  which  mistakes  were  made  and 
experience  gathered.  In  the  course  of  this  experience  it  has  worked 
out  a  set  of  principles  which  are  now  commonly  accepted  by  those 

^E.g.,  union  or  federated  churches. 

•Cf.  "Christian  Unity:  Its  Principles  and  Possibilities,"  pp.  110-122. 


214  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

who  have  studied  the  situation  with  which  they  are  designed  to 
deal.i 

There  are  three  possible  ways  of  forming  a  federation.  It  may 
be  formed  by  a  group  of  individuals,  ministers  or  laymen,  who 
associate  themselves  for  the  study  of  community  problems  and  do 
whatever  they  can  to  promote  co-operation  among  the  churches. 
It  may  be  formed  by  the  local  congregations,  choosing  delegates 
to  represent  them  in  a  council  which  shall  consider  their  common 
interests  and  report  their  recommendations  to  the  parent  body. 
Finally,  in  those  cities  which  are  so  large  that  the  missionary  task 
of  the  Church  can  not  be  adequately  handled  by  the  local  churches 
themselves,  it  may  be  formed  through  the  union  of  the  City  Missions 
Societies  or  Church  Extension  Societies  which  the  denominations 
have  created  to  carry  on  their  missionary  work  or  even  by  the 
denominations  themselves.  The  first  and  third  are  devices  designed 
to  meet  exceptional  situations.  The  second  is  the  prevailing  method 
in  cities  of  moderate  size. 

In  New  York  City  all  three  of  these  methods  may  be  studied. 
The  size  of  the  city  is  so  great,  its  problems  so  difficult,  its  changes 
so  rapid  and  bewildering  that  until  recently  no  effort  to  bring  about 
a  comprehensive  organization  for  the  greater  city  had  been  success- 
ful. The  geographical  and  economic  difficulties,  in  themselves  all 
but  insuperable,  are  accentuated  by  the  division  of  responsibility 
between  dioceses,  conferences,  classes,  and  presbyteries.  Under 
these  conditions  it  has  been  hard  to  work  out  a  single  comprehensive 
organization  for  the  city  as  a  whole.  Manhattan  has  been  working 
in  its  field  through  its  Federation  and  City  Missions  Council,  and 
Brooklyn  and  Queens  through  their  own  organizations.  Only  re- 
cently has  it  been  possible  to  create  an  organization  comprehensive 
enough  to  take  in  all  parts  of  the  greater  city. 

The  New  York  Federation  of  Churches  in  its  older  form  illus- 
trates the  first  of  the  three  methods  of  approach  to  the  city  prob- 
lem.   It  began  as  an  organization  of  individual  pastors  and  laymen 

*The  story  of  these  experiments  is  told  by  Dr.  Roy  B.  Guild,  Secretary  of 
the  Commission  on  Councils  of  Churches  of  the  Federal  Council,  in  the  chap- 
ter on  this  subject  in  the  volume  on  "Christian  Unity"  already  referred  to,  as 
well  as  in  various  publications  by  the  Commission  {e.g.,  "Practicing  Christian 
Unity,"  New  York,  1919;  "Community  Programs  for  Co-operating  Churches," 
New  York,  1920).  To  these  we  may  refer  the  reader  who  wishes  fuller  infor- 
mation as  to  details. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  215 

who  believed  in  federation  and  were  working  to  bring  it  about.  It 
did  not  officially  represent  the  churches  as  a  whole.  The  Federation 
has  done  indispensable  work  in  investigating  conditions,  dissemi- 
nating information,  and  forming  public  opinion,  but  its  unofficial 
character  has  prevented  it  from  becoming  a  true  federation  of 
churches  in  the  sense  in  which  this  is  true  of  other  organizations 
which  we  are  presently  to  describe.^ 

To  supplement  this  lack  the  New  York  City  Missions  Council 
was  established.  This  is  a  committee  consisting  of  officially  ap- 
pointed delegates  of  the  responsible  ecclesiastical  bodies  carrying 
on  missionary  work  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx.  It  includes  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Episcopal,  Presbyterian,  Lutheran,  Methodist, 
Baptist,  Disciples,  and  Dutch  Reformed  churches  and  of  the  City 
Missions  Society.  The  basis  of  representation  differs  in  different 
cases.  In  the  case  of  the  Episcopal  Church  the  diocese  is  the  unit 
represented;  in  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  the  classis;  in  other 
cases  the  responsible  Church  Extension  or  City  Missions  Society  is 
the  appointing  body.  The  powers  of  the  Council  are  purely  advi- 
sory and  consultative;  yet  it  has  done  much  to  establish  principles 
of  comity  and  to  create  in  its  constituency  a  spirit  of  confidence 
and  co-operation. 

Recently  the  Council  has  united  with  a  similar  organization  in 
Brooklyn  to  form  a  comprehensive  body  taking  in  the  entire  field 
of  greater  New  York.  This  enlarged  Council  has  undertaken  a 
study  of  the  religious  needs  of  the  greater  city  which  it  is  hoped 
will  prove  a  useful  guide  for  further  planning.^ 

Neither  Federation  nor  Council  in  its  present  form  is  adequate 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  greater  city,  and  plans  are  already  under 
way  and  indeed  far  advanced  to  supply  New  York  City  with  a 
really  responsible  and  representative  federation.  In  this  case,  ow- 
ing to  the  size  of  the  city,  the  unit  of  representation  will  not  be  the 
individual  church,  but  the  denomination.     The  right  to  vote  for 

*0n  the  history  and  work  of  the  New  York  Federation  cf.  the  files  of 
Federation,  published  by  the  New  York  Federation  of  Churches,  esp.  VII, 
No.  4,  April,  1914. 

*  A  similar  organization  has  existed  in  Chicago  for  many  years.  It  includes 
five  denominations— Methodist,  Presbyterian.  Baptist,  Congregational,  Disci- 
ples— and  operates  under  an  agreement  which  binds  the  co-operating  bodies 
to  submit  all  plans  for  locating  new  churches  to  the  Council  for  its  approval. 
This  Council  must  not  be  confused  with  the  Comity  Committee  of  the  Chicago 
Federation  of  Churches,  which  includes  sixteen  denominations. 


216  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

directors  and  to  determine  the  general  policy  of  the  Federation  will 
be  vested  in  the  representatives  of  the  denominations  which  co- 
operate.   Provision  will  be  made  through  a  class  of  general  mem- 
bers for  representatives  of  the   co-operating  local   churches   and 
others  whose  participation  in  the  work  of  the  Federation  is  desirable. 
A  similar  federation  exists  in  Chicago,  in  which  sixteen  different 
denominations  co-operate  on  a  basis  of  proportional  representation. 
Reference  to  the  Church  Extension  and  Home  Missions  Com- 
mittees calls  attention  to  another  feature  of  the  churches'  local 
administrative  machinery,  of  which  brief  mention  must  be  made, 
namely,  the  denominational  committees  in  the  different  localities 
which  are  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  caring  for  the  weaker 
churches  and  otherwise  promoting  their  missionary  and  educational 
work.    In  cities  like  New  York  and  Chicago  these  are  powerful 
bodies  raising  and  expending  large  sums  of  money,  employing  a 
considerable  staff  of  workers,  and  commanding  skilled  leadership. 
In  smaller  communities  the  service  rendered  is  usually  by  volun- 
teers and  the  machinery  much  simpler.    These  local  organizations 
are  the  natural  points  of  contact  between  the  local  community  and 
the  nation-wide  work  of  the  Church  of  which  we  shall  speak  in  the 
next  chapter,  and  their  efficient  co-operation  is  a  necessary  condi- 
tion of  carrying  through  any  comprehensive  plan. 

The  conditions  which  obtain  in  New  York  City  and  Chicago  are 
exceptional.  In  most  cities  the  natural  units  to  be  federated  are 
the  local  congregations.  Such  federations  exist  in  forty-five  cities,^ 
and  as  we  have  already  seen  have  accumulated  a  considerable  body 
of  experience  and  a  definite  set  of  ideals. 

The  following  principles  have  been  agreed  upon  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  movement  as  essential  to  a  successful  federation. 
In  the  first  place,  the  organization  must  be  official,  not  voluntary 
or  individual ;  that  is,  the  units  which  form  the  federation  must  be 
congregations,  or  the  larger  bodies  through  which  they  co-operate 
officially.  In  the  second  place,  adequate  financial  support  must  be 
secured  before  a  beginning  is  made.  The  movement  must  be  co- 
operative in  support  as  well  as  personnel,  and  this  support  must 
come  not  simply  from  well-disposed  individuals,  but  from  the 
bodies  which  the  federation  proposes  to  unite.    Finally,  there  must 

^Aocording  to  the  list  compiled  by  the  Commission  on  Councils  of 
Churches,  as  of  December  31,  1921. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  217 

be  a  paid  secretary,  giving  his  entire  time  to  the  movement,  and 
sharing  his  experience  with  other  secretaries  engaged  in  similar 
work.  The  burdens  to  be  carried  are  too  heavy  to  be  borne  by 
amateurs.  For  the  initiative  and  guidance  of  a  successful  federa- 
tion, only  a  professional  is  adequate.^ 

In  the  volume  on  Christian  Unity  already  referred  to,  Dr. 
Guild  outlines  the  programme  of  a  typical  federation  which  has 
served  as  a  basis  for  more  than  a  dozen  others.  Among  its  objects 
he  enumerates  the  following: 

*'(a)  To  make  a  continuous  religious  survey,  to  furnish  reliable 
information  and  a  basis  for  intelligent  action. 

" {b)  To  prevent  unnecessary  overlapping  and  competition  be- 
tween the  denominations,  and  to  see  that  all  communities  are  ade- 
quately churched. 

"(c)  To  endeavor  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  city  with  the 
claims  of  Christ  through  a  strategic  programme  of  evangelism  in 
all  the  churches  individually,  and  unitedly  where  possible,  depend- 
ing almost  entirely  on  local  leaders. 

"(d)  To  study  the  outstanding  industrial  and  social  needs  of 
the  city,  and  to  apply  Christianity  in  an  effort  at  solution. 

"(e)  To  effect  a  policy  of  recreation  which  will  afford  to  all  the 
people  as  much  as  or  more  than  the  saloon  has  given,  and  to  make 
all  the  recreations  wholesome  and  uplifting. 

"(/)  To  present  a  programme  of  Christian  education  that  will 
meet  the  needs  of  the  city. 

"  ig)  To  interpret  Christian  democracy,  especially  to  the  alien, 
non-English  speaking  groups  in  the  city. 

"(/i)  To  give  proper  publicity  to  Christianity,  to  the  churches, 
and  the  religious  interests  of  the  city. 

"(i)  To  make  religion  effective  and  attractive  in  the  city,  and 
to  apply  to  the  work  of  the  churches  the  best  modern  business 
principles  of  efficiency  and  economy."  ^ 

What  is  planned  in  this  programme  is  already  being  put  into 
effect  in  a  number  of  American  cities.  Chicago,  Pittsburgh,  Indian- 
apolis, Cleveland,  Louisville,  Baltimore,  Detroit  are  but  a  few  of 
the  more  conspicuous  examples  which  could  be  given.    In  Indian- 

'Cf.  "Christian  Unity:  Its- Principles  and  Possibilities,"  pp.  110-122. 
'Op.  cit.,  p.  119. 


218  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

apolis,  community  evangelism  has  been  carried  on  with  increasing 
success.^  Elsewhere  religious  education  has  been  stressed,^  or  social 
service.^  In  Atlanta,  excellent  work  has  been  done  in  securing 
publicity  for  Christian  interests,  notably  through  a  series  of  remark- 
able editorials  in  the  Atlanta  Constitution.  In  Dayton,  provision 
is  made  for  a  worker  in  the  juvenile  courts  who  represents  united 
Protestantism.  Portland  has  developed  a  department  of  interna- 
tional justice  and  goodwill.  The  Chicago  Federation  has  given 
special  attention  to  work  in  public  institutions. 

From  the  cities  the  movement  is  already  beginning  to  extend 
to  the  counties  and  states.  Massachusetts  has  had  a  state  federa- 
tion for  years  which  has  rendered  most  effective  service.  Similar 
federations  are  found  in  California,  Connecticut,  Indiana,  Ohio, 
and  Pennsylvania.*  Through  such  state  federations  the  interests 
of  the  community  church  are  being  actively  pushed  and  the  two 
streams  that  we  have  thus  far  been  studying  separately  have 
already  joined  their  waters. 

In  addition  a  movement  for  county  federations  is  beginning, 
and  one  or  two  have  already  been  established  with  permanent  paid 
secretaries ;  ^  but  their  function  still  needs  to  be  defined  and  their 
usefulness  proved. 

More  important  than  any  specific  thing  the  federations  have 
done  has  been  their  success  in  creating  a  common  consciousness 
and  developing  a  method  of  procedure.  Pastors  who  have  been 
oppressed  by  the  difficulty  of  their  task  have  been  encouraged  by 
the  discovery  that  they  were  not  working  alone.  Congregations 
that  were  facing  problems  they  did  not  know  how  to  solve  have 
been  helped  by  an  exchange  of  experience  with  others  who  have 
been  more  successful.     The  primitive  Christian  conception  of  the 

*  Detroit  and  Pittsburgh  are  also  doing  good  work  along  the  line  of  evan- 
gelism. 

^ E.g.,  at  Toledo,  Cincinnati,  Detroit,  Rochester,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Duluth, 
Portland,  Oregon,  Newark,  and  Erie.  Specially  significant  has  been  the  work 
done  by  the  Toledo  Federation  in  supervising  the  work  of  community  week- 
day Bible  schools. 

^E.g.,  at  Boston,  Pittsburgh,  and  Chicago. 

*The  Ohio  State  Federation,  in  co-operation  with  Ohio  State  University, 
maintains  a  two  weeks'  summer  school  for  country  pastors.  The  Connecticut 
State  Federation  holds  a  similar  session  in  cormection  with  the  State  Agri- 
cultural College. 

^E.g.,  Wayne  County,  Indiana,  and  Louvain  County,  Ohio. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  219 

church  in  the  city  has  through  this  movement  become  a  reahty  for 
multitudes  of  Christians. 

The  federation  is  not  simply  a  clearing-house  of  information 
within  its  own  community;  it  is  a  means  of  exchange  between  com- 
munity and  community.  Through  periodic  conventions  experience 
is  interchanged,  and  contacts  established  between  the  local  com- 
munity and  the  wider  movements  in  the  nation  at  large.  Thus  the 
federation  movement  is  increasingly  a  source  of  inspiration  and 
education  for  all  who  take  part  in  it. 

A  typical  example  was  the  convention  held  in  Cleveland  in 
1920.  An  inspiring  programme  was  presented  covering  not  only 
the  local  problems  of  the  different  cities  represented,  but  the  larger 
aspects  of  the  Church's  task  at  home  and  abroad.  Such  questions 
as  the  responsibility  of  the  Church  for  promoting  a  better  social 
order  and  a  more  sensitive  international  conscience  had  their  place 
side  by  side  with  the  older  and  more  permanent  topics  of  evangel- 
ism and  education. 

The  educational  possibilities  of  the  movement  were  emphasized 
at  a  gathering  of  federation  secretaries  held  at  the  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  New  York  in  June,  1921.  Thirty  different  com- 
munities were  represented,  a  force  whose  influence  on  the  future 
development  of  the  Church  it  would  be  difficult  to  over-estimate. 
In  these  men,  met  for  a  week  of  quiet  study  and  thought  on  the 
greatest  of  all  themes,  the  two  most  important  movements  in  the 
religious  life  of  the  present  were  represented — ^the  movement  for 
Christian  unity  and  the  movement  for  the  social  application  of 
the  Gospel. 

But,  after  all,  what  can  be  done  through  local  co-operation  even 
with  the  best  will  in  the  world  is  limited.  In  city  and  country  alike 
there  are  problems  beyond  the  power  of  those  on  the  ground.  Only 
specialized  study  by  men  set  apart  for  this  purpose  can  adequately 
aid  us  here.  For  such  specialized  service,  we  are  dependent  upon 
national  agencies.  What  these  are  and  how  they  function  will 
concern  us  in  the  next  chapter. 


220  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

5.    Consequences  for  the  Work  of  the  Minister— Need  of  a  Recon- 
sideration of  the  Function  and  Responsibilities  of  the 
Protestant  Ministry 

Before  we  turn  to  this  new  phase  of  our  subject  there  is  one 
aspect  of  the  local  situation  that  requires  further  consideration, 
and  that  is  its  bearing  upon  the  life  of  the  minister.  We  have  seen 
that  changes  are  taking  place  in  the  institution  he  serves.  It  is 
inevitable  that  these  should  have  a  reflex  influence  upon  his  own 
responsibility  and  functions.  Such  an  influence  is  in  fact  being 
exerted,  but  in  ways  more  or  less  unpremeditated  and  haphazard. 
It  is  worth  while  to  consider  with  some  care  what  its  effects  are 
likely  to  be. 

We  have  noted  two  tendencies  in  the  local  church,  a  tendency 
to  enlarge  the  scope  of  its  activity,  and  a  tendency  to  unite  with 
other  churches.  Little  churches  are  coming  together  to  form  bigger 
ones  and  the  bigger  churches  are  doing  more  things  and  more  kinds 
of  things  than  they  did  before.  Group  enterprises  are  being  under- 
taken and,  as  a  result,  new  demands  are  being  made  upon  the 
minister.  He  is  asked  to  do  more  and  he  has  less  time  to  do  it  in. 
One  may  differ  in  one's  interpretation  of  this  situation.  One 
may  believe  with  the  advocates  of  the  institutional  church  that  the 
tendency  to  expand  the  church's  activities  is  likely  to  continue 
indefinitely.  Or  one  may  believe  with  the  present  writer  that  the 
present  condition  is  a  temporary  one,  due  to  causes  in  our  social 
environment  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  church  to  correct  and 
remove.  In  either  case,  no  intelligent  observer  can  fail  to  recognize 
that  this  expansion  of  function  is  taking  place  to-day.  This  being 
true,  the  ministry  must  adjust  itself  to  the  change  both  in  theory 
and  in  practice. 

The  adjustment  in  practice  is  going  on  at  the  present  time  in 
many  interesting  ways.  But  the  theoretical  adjustment  has  not  yet 
kept  pace  with  the  changes  in  practice.  The  minister  of  to-day  is 
doing  a  great  many  things  that  his  predecessor  was  not  expected 
to  do,  but  men's  thought  about  him  still  moves  in  the  old  groove 
worn  when  Jonathan  Edwards  preached  his  Stockbridge  sermons 
and  Whitfield  swept  the  country  with  the  fire  of  his  revival  preach- 
ing. The  contrast  between  the  theory  of  the  ministry  and  the  prac- 
tical conditions  in  which  individual  ministers  find  themselves  work- 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  221 

ing  constitutes  one  of  the  greatest  practical  difiBculties  in  the  way 
of  the  modern  ministry. 

We  have  already  considered  what  some  of  these  difficulties 
are — the  insecurity  of  tenure,  the  limitation  of  outlook,  the  lack  of 
any  adequate  relation  to  the  larger  interests  of  the  Church  as  a 
whole.  We  have  traced  these  to  their  roots  in  the  conception  of  the 
minister  as  an  isolated  individual  dealing  with  other  isolated  groups 
which  we  call  local  churches.  We  have  seen  how  this  isolation 
creates  the  uncertainty  and  restlessness  which  we  have  already 
noted.  The  congregation  does  not  wish  to  call  any  minister  for 
whom  it  may  be  expected  permanently  to  provide.  The  minister 
who  feels  that  he  is  not  rightly  placed  has  no  self-respecting  method 
of  bringing  about  a  change.  In  the  meantime  he  is  asked  to  do  all 
kinds  of  things  for  which  his  previous  training  may  not  have  fitted 
him  and  the  distinctive  work  for  which  he  is  called  as  a  preacher 
and  a  pastor  suffers. 

Such  a  conception  of  the  minister's  responsibility  does  not  cor- 
respond with  the  conception  of  the  Church  to  which  the  facts  of 
modern  life  are  forcing  us.  The  barriers  between  the  churches  have 
been  breaking  down  and  the  Church  is  coming  to  be  thought  of  as 
a  great  social  institution  with  a  many-sided  life,  employing  men 
of  different  talents  and  training  who  can  co-operate  with  one  an- 
other in  carrying  out  a  common  plan.  This  corporate  conception 
of  the  Church,  long  characteristic  of  such  highly  organized  bodies 
as  the  Methodists,  the  Presbyterians,  and  the  Episcopalians,  is 
showing  itself  to  be  the  only  conception  which  is  able  to  stand  the 
strain  of  modern  life. 

It  is  clear  that  such  a  conception  of  the  Church  requires  a  modi- 
fication of  the  earlier  conception  of  the  ministry.  Either  the  min- 
ister in  the  conventional  sense  must  add  to  his  duties  as  preacher, 
pastor,  and  leader  of  worship  other  functions  as  social  leader,  man 
of  business,  and  the  like,  or  we  must  develop  a  differentiated  min- 
istry in  which,  besides  the  ministers  who  preach  and  lead  in  wor- 
ship, men — and  for  that  matter  women — may  be  called  to  serve  the 
Church  as  its  recognized  ministers  who  are  not  expected  to  do  any 
of  these  things. 

This  change  is  already  taking  place  in  the  ministry  of  the 
foreign  field.  In  a  list  of  forty-three  persons  recently  commis- 
sioned for  service  by  one  of  our  foreign-mission  boards,  only  seven 


222  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

were  ordained  ministers.^  The  others  were  teachers,  nurses,  physi- 
cians, men  of  business,  all  going  out  with  Christian  motives  as 
servants  of  the  Church  to  do  forms  of  the  Church's  work. 

A  parallel  expansion  of  function  is  going  on  in  the  Church  at 
home,  but  it  has  not  yet  resulted  in  any  corresponding  differentia- 
tion in  the  function  of  the  ministry.  It  is  true  that  a  beginning 
has  been  made.  The  teaching  ministry  is  beginning  to  differentiate 
itself  from  that  of  preaching,  and  the  directorate  of  religious  educa- 
tion is  becoming  a  recognized  profession.  But  religious  education 
is  only  one  of  many  functions  which  are  being  carried  on  in  the 
modern  Church.  The  pastoral  work  of  the  Church,  too,  requires 
specialized  training.  Boys'  clubs  and  girls'  clubs,  civic  forums  and 
good  government  clubs,  and  all  the  range  of  social  activities  which 
are  included  in  the  work  of  a  modern  institutional  church  are  so 
many  opportunities  for  pastoral  contact.  Trained  leaders  are 
needed  who  share  the  ideals  of  the  minister  who  preaches.  For 
such  a  ministry,  women  as  well  as  men  may  well  be  set  apart,  and 
within  it  differences  of  age  and  talents  may  find  free  scope.  Music 
and  the  arts,  too,  will  take  their  place  in  this  comprehensive  min- 
istry, and  the  organist  and  the  choir-master  be  recognized  as  min- 
isters of  religion  and  judged  accordingly. 

Such  a  differentiation  of  the  minister's  duties  would  free  the 
minister  who  preaches  from  the  strain  which  is  now  put  upon  him 
by  the  multitude  of  his  duties.  It  would  make  it  possible  to  restore 
worship  to  its  central  place  in  his  interest  and  give  dignity  and 
restfulness  to  the  service  of  prayer  and  praise.  Above  all,  it  would 
make  place  for  the  older  man  in  the  ministry  who  is  now  too  often 
crowded  out  by  the  younger  man,  not  because  he  does  not  do  well 
the  thing  he  is  fitted  to  do,  but  because  he  is  expected  to  do  other 
things  which  are  not  part  of  his  business  and  which  can  be  done 
much  better  by  younger  and  differently  trained  men. 

To  do  this  would  be  to  restore  to  modern  Protestantism  the 
conception  of  the  ministry  which  was  prevalent  in  its  beginning. 
In  Calvin's  plan  for  the  church  of  Geneva  four  different  kinds  of 
minister  were  recognized.  Besides  the  pastor  was  the  elder,  who 
had  charge  of  discipline;  the  deacon  who  cared  for  the  poor;  and 
the  teacher  who  was  responsible  for  religious  education.  We  need 
to  revive  this  conception  of  a  differentiated  ministry  and  extend  it 

^Presbyterian  Advance,  December  1,  1921. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  COMMUNITY  223 

to  fit  the  conditions  of  the  modern  Church.  We  must  take  the  new 
activities  which  have  grown  up  in  the  churches  in  voluntary  and 
unofficial  ways,  and  make  a  place  for  them  as  parts  of  our  more 
formal  and  recognized  ministry.  We  must  release  the  rarer  spirits 
who  have  the  gift  of  preaching  from  other  duties  and  give  them 
the  time  and  opportunity  they  need  for  this  most  important  task. 

The  foundation  for  this  differentiated  ministry  is  already  laid 
in  the  present  organization  of  the  Church.  The  Congregational 
churches,  including  the  Baptists,  have  their  deacons  as  well  as 
their  ministers.  The  Presbyterians  add  the  elder  to  the  minister 
and  the  deacon.  The  Episcopalians  and  Methodists  have  their 
deaconesses.  All  denominations  have  their  trustees  who,  as  the 
local  representatives  of  the  congregations,  hold  property  and  rep- 
resent the  churches  before  the  courts.  There  is  no  reason  why 
other  officers  should  not  be  added.  There  is  every  reason  why  the 
existing  offices  should  be  more  fully  utilized,  assigned  larger  respon- 
sibility, and,  if  need  be,  made  salaried  positions. 

In  the  larger  institutional  churches  this  is  already  taking  place. 
A  staff  of  paid  workers  is  employed,  including  men  and  women. 
On  the  bulletin  of  any  large  city  church  to-day  you  will  find 
printed  beside  the  name  of  the  minister  the  names  of  parish  visitors 
and  other  church  workers;  but  their  work  has  not  yet  received  full 
theoretical  recognition.  Their  position  has  not  yet  been  raised  to 
the  dignity  of  an  independent  and  permanent  life  work. 

It  is  because  the  Young  Men's  and  the  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian Associations  provide  in  their  secretaryships  such  permanent 
positions  that  they  are  attracting  so  many  men  and  women  who, 
if  a  similar  opportunity  were  offered  them,  would  be  glad  to  work 
in  the  regular  churches.  The  time  will  surely  come  when  this  lack 
will  be  rectified  and  the  Church  provide  not  only  opportunity,  but 
recognition  for  the  highly  trained  service  of  which  it  is  in  need. 

For  this  there  is  need  of  a  change  in  the  organization  of  the 
Church.  The  forces  which  are  bringing  about  unity  in  the  local 
community  must  expand  until  they  take  in  the  Church  at  large. 
A  good  beginning  has  already  been  made.  In  the  mission  boards 
of  the  churches  as  well  as  in  the  Christian  Associations  the  con- 
ception of  a  differentiated  ministry  functioning  in  the  name  of  the 
whole  Church  is  already  accepted.  What  these  organizations  are 
doing  we  shall  study  in  the  chapter  that  follows. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   CHURCH    SPECIALIZING   FOR   SERVICE 

1.     The  Need  of  Specialization  in  Christian  Work — The  Survey  as 
a  Condition  of  Effective  Specialization 

We  have  seen  that  both  in  the  smaller  communities  and  in  the 
larger  cities  influences  are  at  work  and  problems  arise  which  can- 
not be  dealt  with  adequately  without  the  assistance  of  specialists. 
This  fact  the  churches  are  beginning  to  recognize,  and  in  various 
ways  they  are  adapting  their  methods  to  meet  the  new  situation. 

The  agencies  through  which  the  churches  are  addressing  them- 
selves to  their  new  responsibilities  are  the  boards  of  the  different 
denominations,  and  various  voluntary  societies,  of  which  the  most 
important  are  the  two  Christian  Associations.  To  these  may  be 
added  the  Salvation  Army,  an  organization  with  methods  so  dis- 
tinctive as  to  require  separate  consideration. 

The  boards  of  the  churches  are  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
instructive  developments  of  American  Protestantism,  deserving  far 
more  study  and  attention  than  they  have  hitherto  received.  They 
are  not  only  agencies  of  missionary  service,  but  instruments  of 
government  adapted  to  the  peculiar  needs  and  ideals  of  Protestant- 
ism. Through  its  Boards  of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions,  a  congre- 
gational church  like  the  Baptist,  jealous  of  the  rights  of  the  local 
congregation  and  repudiating  with  decision  the  claims  of  the  Epis- 
copate in  every  form,  is  furnished  with  an  instrumentality  through 
which  all  its  congregations  can  act  as  one,  and  the  secretaries  of 
these  boards  have  an  administrative  responsibility  comparable  only 
to  that  of  an  archbishop.  It  is  instructive  therefore  to  note  what 
these  representatives  of  the  churches  are  doing  with  the  powers 
which  have  been  entrusted  to  them. 

To  deal  wisely  with  the  problems  of  modern  missions,  whether 
at  home  or  abroad,  it  is  necessary,  first  of  all,  to  secure  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  situation  to  be  met  and,  secondly,  to  provide  the 

224 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  225 

proper  agencies  to  meet  it.  The  boards  are  doing  these  two  things 
in  ways  which  enlarging  experience  is  constantly  making  more 
effective. 

The  method  used  by  the  boards  in  assembling  the  facts  that 
they  need  to  know  is  known  technically  as  a  survey.  A  survey  is 
an  intensive  study  of  a  particular  geographical  area,  such  as  a  city, 
county,  or  state,  with  a  view  to  discovering  the  religious  conditions 
and  needs  of  the  people  living  in  it,  the  methods  used  by  the  exist- 
ing churches  in  ministering  to  those  needs  and  what  still  should  be 
done  to  supplement  or  correct  the  Church's  ministry  at  those  points 
where  it  is  now  faulty  or  insufficient.  Such  a  survey  may  be  made 
either  by  the  resident  Christian  forces  or  by  representatives  of  the 
boards,  or,  better  still,  by  both  combined. 

The  conditions  of  an  effective  survey  are  that  it  should  be 
thorough,  accurate,  economical  of  time  and  money,  and  above  all 
adapted  to  the  purpose  which  it  is  designed  to  serve.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  much  so-called  survey  work  is  useless  or  worse 
than  useless,  either  because  it  is  conducted  by  persons  not  suffi- 
ciently familiar  with  the  subject  to  be  studied  to  estimate  cor- 
rectly what  they  find  or  because  it  is  not  so  planned  as  to  seek  the 
facts  that  are  really  relevant.  What  is  needed  is  not  so  much  sta- 
tistics obtained  from  house-to-house  visitation  by  persons  who 
have  never  done  such  work  before,  as  careful  study  of  significant 
and  representative  areas  and  intelligent  interpretation  of  the  vast 
mass  of  statistical  material  already  available  from  other  surveys. 

A  well-planned  survey  will  be  designed  for  one  of  two  purposes: 
to  determine  a  policy,  or  to  inspire  people  to  execute  it.  These 
two  purposes,  however  intimately  related,  must  be  clearly  distin- 
guished. The  difficulty  of  doing  this  may  be  illustrated  in  the  case 
of  the  survey  undertaken  by  the  Interchurch  World  Movement. 
The  idea  which  underlay  it  was  an  admirable  one — to  give  a  com- 
prehensive picture  of  the  world-wide  task  before  the  Church  in  such 
a  way  as  to  inspire  the  churches  to  discharge  it  adequately,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  furnish  the  information  which  would  make  that 
discharge  possible.  Unfortunately  the  pressure  of  time  compelled 
emphasis  upon  the  first  aspect  of  the  survey  to  the  injury  of  the 
second.  To  provide  campaign  material  for  the  drive  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  the  survey  material  available  at  a  certain  time,  and 
this  necessitated  such  haste  in  the  preparation  of  certain  parts  of 


226  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  work  as  to  sacrifice  much  of  its  usefulness  as  information  on 
which  to  base  a  trustworthy  policy.^ 

The  lesson  so  painfully  learned  is  not  likely  to  be  forgotten. 
Most  of  the  survey  work  done  by  our  mission  boards  is  careful, 
accurate,  and  intelligent.  The  survey  is  made  by  persons  who  are 
trained  for  the  work,  and  after  models  whose  usefulness  has  been 
tested  by  experience.  The  same  is  true  of  the  work  done  by  the 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association.^  Some  of  the  studies  made 
by  this  Association  have  proved  useful  not  only  to  churches,  but 
to  governments.  Notable  examples  are  the  recent  study  of  women 
in  industry  conducted  by  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion and  published  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor,' 
and  the  survey  of  the  city  of  Prague,  conducted  by  the  same  organ- 
ization at  the  request  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Government.* 

The  two  examples  just  cited  illustrate  two  different  kinds  of 
survey  which  it  is  important  to  distinguish:  first,  a  study  of  some 
particular  local  situation  which  presents  peculiar  problems  or  dif- 
ficulties; second,  a  study  of  some  particular  problem  which  may 
enter  into  a  number  of  different  local  situations  but  which  can  only 
be  properly  dealt  with  on  the  basis  of  knowledge  derived  from  a 
comparison  of  all  available  instances. 

After  securing  such  knowledge,  the  next  step  is  to  agree  upon 
a  policy  and  to  provide  the  agencies  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Dr. 
Charles  L.  Thompson,  the  veteran  secretary  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Home  Missions,  was  one  of  the  first  to  direct  the  atten- 
tion of  the  home  mission  forces  to  the  new  problems  before  the 

^  It  should  be  said  that  this  criticism  applies  in  different  degrees  to  different 
parts  of  the  work.  Thus  the  educational  survey  assembled  much  information 
of  permanent  value  which  had  not  hitherto  been  accessible,  and  the  same  was 
true  of  the  survey  of  rural  conditions.  More  than  a  dozen  publications  owe 
their  existence  either  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  investigations  which  the 
Interchurch  World  Movement  set  on  foot.  Other  contributions  may  be  ex- 
pected from  the  Committee  on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys,  a  voluntary 
committee  formed  to  carry  on  the  uncompleted  work  of  the  Survey  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interchurch. 

^The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  while  it  has  conducted  a  number 
of  investigations  for  special  purposes,  has  published  little  material  in  this 
field. 

*The  New  Position  of  Women  in  American  Industry:  Bulletin  of  the 
Women's  Bureau,  No.  12,  United  States  Department  of  Labor,  Washington, 
D.  C,  1921. 

*Cf.  The  Survey,  June  11,  1921. 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  227 

Church  and  to  devise  plans  which  would  make  it  possible  to  deal 
with  them  effectively.^ 

2.    Resulting  Changes  in  Organization — The   Department   as   an 
Agency  of  Specialized  Service — Other  Forms  of  Spe- 
cialization at  Home  and  Abroad — The 
Resulting  Need  of  Unity 

In  Dr.  Thompson's  church,  the  Presbyterian,  the  need  of  spe- 
cialization was  met  by  the  creation  of  departments  to  care  for  par- 
ticular phases  of  the  home-mission  task,  such  as  immigration,  coun- 
try life,  social  service,  and  the  like.  The  same  practice  is  common 
in  other  denominations.  Even  those  which  have  not  found  it  advis- 
able to  create  separate  departments  have  seen  the  importance  of 
setting  apart  men  for  special  forms  of  service  and  of  giving  them 
a  training  not  required  by  the  general  body  of  workers,  who  are 
engaged  in  the  more  familiar  tasks  of  evangelization  and  educa- 
tion which  will  always  occupy  the  greater  number.- 

When  the  new  departments  were  first  established,  the  line  be- 
tween the  newer  and  older  forms  of  work  was  strongly  emphasized, 
but  as  time  has  passed  and  experience  has  accumulated,  it  has 
become  apparent  that  the  function  of  the  new  departments  is  not 
to  relieve  the  other  workers  of  responsibility  for  the  kind  of  work 
the  departments  are  doing,  but  rather  to  gain  a  body  of  knowledge 
and  experience  which  can  be  shared  with  the  Church  at  large  so 
that  all  its  work  may  become  more  effective. 

*Cf.  Thompson,  "The  Soul  of  America,"  New  York,  1919. 

'The  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  has  secretaries  for  English- 
Speaking  Missions  and  Indian  Work ;  Social  Service  and  Rural  Community 
Work;  City  and  Foreign-Speaking  Missions;  Education;  Evangelism;  as  well 
as  an  architect  secretary. 

The  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  superintendents  for  the  following  departments:  Church 
Extension;  City  Work;  Rural  Work;  Frontier  Work;  Evangelism;  Indian 
Mission  Work;  and  directors  of  the  following  bureaus:  Publicity;  Foreign- 
Speaking  Work;  Colored  Work. 

The  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  U.  S.  has 
a  superintendent  for  immigration. 

The  Department  of  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the  Domestic  and 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. 
is  the  latest  national  organization  to  appoint  a  secretary  for  work  among 
Foreign-Born  Americans. 

The  Board  of  Church  Extension  of  the  American  Moravian  Church  has  a 
Country  Church  Commission. 


228  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

The  relation  between  these  two  phases  of  the  Church's  work  may 
be  illustrated  in  connection  with  the  board  with  which  the  author 
is  most  familiar,  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.  Of  the  specialized  work  carried  on  by  this 
board,  the  most  instructive  for  our  present  purpose  is  that  done  by 
its  Departments  of  City  and  Immigrant  Work,  of  the  Church  and 
Country  Life,  and  of  Social  Service.  The  first  deals  with  the  race 
question  as  it  meets  us  in  our  great  cities  and  industrial  centres; 
the  second,  as  its  name  implies,  with  the  country  church;  the  third 
with  the  questions  at  issue  between  capital  and  labor,  and  especially 
with  the  group  of  workingmen  who  are  alienated  from  the  Church. 

The  first  business  of  the  Department  of  City  and  Immigrant 
Work  has  been  to  gain  an  understanding  of  the  conditions  to  be  met. 
This  has  been  done  by  surveys  of  selected  fields  in  this  country, 
supplemented  by  special  studies  of  the  home  conditions  of  the 
nationalities  among  whom  work  is  being  carried  on.  Through  the 
offer  of  immigration  fellowships  it  has  been  possible  to  send  selected 
men  from  the  seminaries  for  a  year  of  study  in  the  different  coun- 
tries from  which  these  new  citizens  come  and  thus  to  secure  for 
them  that  familiarity  with  the  language,  the  national  traditions, 
and  the  social  customs  of  various  immigrant  groups  which  is  an 
indispensable  condition  of  effective  work. 

As  a  result  of  this  experience  the  department  has  acquired  a 
body  of  information  which  it  can  use  in  the  training  of  workers  and 
in  advising  the  communities  which  ask  its  help  as  to  how  they  can 
best  deal  with  their  own  peculiar  conditions.  In  co-operation  with 
other  workers  in  the  same  field  it  is  helping  to  create  a  literature 
which  makes  a  useful  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the  immigrant.^ 

Besides  studying  conditions  and  training  workers,  the  depart- 
ment undertakes  to  prepare  a  definite  plan  of  work  for  any  com- 
munity that  requires  it.  Such  plans  have  been  made  for  cities  as 
well  as  for  smaller  communities  and  are  being  successfully  put  into 

^Cf.  the  series  of  racial  studies  prepared  under  the  New  Americans  Divi- 
sion of  the  Interchurch  World  Movement,  six  of  which  are  being  published 
for  the  Home  Missions  Council  and  the  Council  of  Women  for  Home  Mis- 
sions by  the  George  H.  Doran  Company.  The  studies  are  as  follows:  "The 
Czecho-Slovaks  in  America";  "The  Russians  in  America";  "The  Poles  in 
America";  "The  Italians  in  America";  "The  Greeks  in  America";  "The 
Magyars  in  America." 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  229 

effect  in  many  places.  In  a  church  like  the  Presbyterian,  where 
the  local  presbytery  is  responsible  for  all  work  done  within  its 
boundaries  and  representatives  of  the  Home  Board  can  gain  ad- 
mission only  through  the  invitation  of  the  presbytery,  this  requires 
close  and  friendly  relations  between  the  board  and  the  presbytery 
which  are  equally  advantageous  to  both  parties. 

The  final  test  of  success  is  met  in  the  fourth  and  last  form  of 
the  department's  work;  namely,  that  of  inspiring  the  home  church 
to  co-operate  in  the  plans  when  made.  In  a  task  so  great  as  that 
of  home  missions,  what  can  be  done  directly  by  any  board,  even 
the  strongest,  is  limited.  The  most  that  it  can  hope  to  do  is  to  set 
a  standard  and  devise  methods  which  may  commend  themselves  to 
the  judgment  and  secure  the  support  of  the  great  mass  of  Christians 
everywhere.  In  exceptional  cases,  to  be  sure,  as  a  temporary 
expedient,  the  department  may  assume  full  charge  of  the  work  of 
a  definite  locality;  but  this  is  not  the  ideal.  The  ideal  arrange- 
ment is  for  the  department  to  find  a  man  and  put  him  at  the  serv- 
ice of  the  local  community,  leaving  them  to  work  out  their  prob- 
lems together.^ 

What  the  Department  of  City  and  Immigrant  Work  is  doing  for 
the  foreigner  in  our  cities  the  Department  of  the  Church  and  Coun- 
try Life  is  doing  for  the  neglected  country  churches.  Among  the 
influences  which  have  helped  to  direct  popular  attention  to  the 
serious  condition  of  our  country  districts,  the  activity  of  this  depart- 
ment has  not  been  the  least.  It  has  been  conducting  surveys,  try- 
ing experiments,  publishing  literature,  securing  recruits,  preaching 
the  need  of  a  resident  ministry,  and  demonstrating  by  example 
what  can  be  done  by  such  a  ministry  if  it  can  be  secured.  It  has 
been  holding  summer  schools  for  persons  interested  in  the  country 
church  ana  co-operating  with  the  agricultural  colleges  in  imparting 

*San  Francisco  Presbytery  is  a  good  illustration  of  this  kind  of  co-opera- 
tion. A  different  form  is  illustrated  in  New  York  City  in  the  relation  between 
the  department  and  the  Church  Extension  Committee  of  Presbytery.  Here 
three  different  factors  are.  co-operating  in  a  harmonious  way — the  local  con- 
gregations which  furnish  the  field  and  the  people,  the  Church  Extension  Com- 
mittee of  the  Presbytery  which  raises  the  money  and  provides  the  buildings, 
the  Department  of  Immigration  which  furnishes  the  superintendence  and 
trains  the  workers.  As  a  result  of  this  co-operation  a  continuity  is  given  to 
the  work  which  could  not  otherwise  be  secured,  and  methods  worked  out 
which  have  been  found  useful  in  dealing  with  similar  problems  in  other  cities. 


230  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  information  necessary  to  fit  a  minister  to  become  not  simply  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel,  but  a  leader  in  all  the  social  and  educational 
influences  which  centre  about  the  church. 

An  interesting  indication  of  the  success  of  the  department's 
work  is  the  number  of  requests  which  have  come  to  it  from  pres- 
byteries that  it  take  over  a  part  or  all  of  their  work  for  a  term  of 
years  as  a  sort  of  experiment  station.  Twenty-six  parishes  are  now 
under  the  care  of  the  department,  and  in  several  cases  {e.g.,  French 
Broad  Presbytery  in  North  Carolina,  Cumberland  Mountain  Pres- 
bytery in  Tennessee,  and  the  Southwest  Bohemian  Presbytery  in 
Texas)  the  department  has  assumed  responsibility  for  the  entire 
work  of  the  presbytery.  But  such  experiments  must  always  be 
regarded  as  experiments  merely,  which  fulfil  their  aim  in  the  meas- 
ure that  they  set  a  standard  for  the  work  of  the  Church  as  a  whole. 

What  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  been  doing  through  the 
departments  described  above,  other  churches  have  been  doing 
through  similar  agencies.  As  already  stated,  the  reason  for  choosing 
these  particular  examples  for  illustration  is  not  that  they  are  more 
important  or  more  successful  than  others,  but  simply  that  the  author 
happens  to  have  first-hand  knowledge  of  the  work  which  they  are 
doing. 

Significant  as  a  sign  of  the  time  is  the  interest  of  the  chrrches 
in  the  industrial  problem.  This  is  dealt  with  in  different  ways  by 
different  churches.  Some  employ  a  special  agency  like  a  Social 
Service  Committee;  others  a  Department  of  Social  Service  attached 
to  the  Board  of  Home  Missions.  In  the  Presbyterian  Church  both 
methods  have  been  followed,  but  the  first  has  now  been  superseded 
by  the  second. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Stelzle  was  a  pioneer  in  this  work.  As  a 
member  of  a  labor  union  he  keenly  felt  the  alienation  of  labor 
from  the  Church  and  he  worked  successfully  to  overcome  it.  By 
addressing  mass  meetings  of  workingmen  on  religious  subjects,  by 
correspondence  and  editorials  in  the  labor  press,  by  instituting  the 
office  of  fraternal  delegate,^  and  above  all  by  the  opening  of  the 
Labor  Temple  in  New  York  City,  he  helped  to  direct  the  attention 

*A  fraternal  delegate  is  a  minister  who  is  invited  to  sit  as  corresponding 
member  in  a  labor  union,  or  a  labor  man  to  whom  a  similar  courtesy  is  ex- 
tended by  a  local  ministers'  association. 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  231 

of  labor  to  the  churches  and  to  make  workingmen  realize  that  the 
churches  were  not  indifferent  to  questions  of  social  welfare  and 
justice. 

The  Labor  Temple  is  a  Presbyterian  church  on  the  corner  of 
Fourteenth  Street  and  Second  Avenue,  in  New  York  City,  which  was 
taken  over  by  the  Church  Extension  Committee  when  its  congre- 
gation was  about  to  abandon  it,  and  turned  over  to  the  Home 
Board  to  be  used  as  an  experiment  station  by  Mr.  Stelzle  in  his  effort 
to  establish  a  point  of  contact  between  labor  and  the  church.^  It 
has  been  at  work  for  twelve  years,  and  it  may  be  said  with  con- 
fidence that  it  has  succeeded  in  fulfilling  the  purpose  for  which  it 
was  established.  The  methods  used  are  those  of  the  modern  insti- 
tutional church:  Sunday  services  in  different  languages,  clubs  and 
classes  through  the  week,  a  settlement  house  with  resident  workers, 
public  lectures  on  topics  of  public  interest,  and  the  like.  Charac- 
teristic features  have  been  the  open  forum  where  from  week  to 
week  current  industrial  questions  are  discussed  by  men  of  different 
shades  of  belief,  and  the  hospitality  extended  by  the  authorities  of 
the  Temple  to  labor  unions  for  their  private  meetings.  In  times 
of  unemployment  the  Temple  has  helped  its  neighbors  to  find 
work.  In  times  of  strike  it  has  offered  a  safe  place  of  meeting  to 
young  girls  exposed  to  the  temptations  of  the  street.  To  a  gratify- 
ing degree  it  has  gained  the  confidence  of  the  working  people,  as 
an  exponent  of  a  type  of  religion  which  they  can  understand  and 
appreciate.^ 

What  the  Labor  Temple  has  done  in  New  York,  other  centres 
are  doing  with  success  in  other  cities.  There  is  a  growing  disposi- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  churches  to  hear  both  sides  of  the  industrial 
question  and  to  state  the  Christian  position  on  the  relation  of  the 
Church  to  industry  not  only  in  the  safe  seclusion  of  the  sanctuary, 
but  in  open  debate  where  the  opponent  can  bring  his  objection  and 
receive  an  answer. 

Another  way  in  which  the  Church's  interest  in  industrial  ques- 
tions has  been  shown  is  through  the  appointment  of  special  com- 
mittees to  investigate  strikes  and  other  industrial  disputes.  The 
Interchurch  investigation  of  the  steel  strike  is  the  best  known,  but 

*  The  work  is  now  under  the  charge  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York. 
'Cf.  "The  Church  and  the  City,"  pp.  48-64. 


232  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

by  no  means  the  only  example  of  its  kind.  The  action  of  the  Con- 
gregational churches  in  the  case  of  the  Lawrence  strike  ^  and  of 
the  Denver  churches  in  the  case  of  the  recent  car  strike  in  that 
city  are  cases  in  point.^ 

The  serious  criticism  which  has  been  passed  upon  the  Inter- 
church  steel  investigation  should  not  blind  us  to  the  importance  of 
the  issue  at  stake.  If  it  be  true  that  the  labor  question  is  at  heart 
a  moral  question  with  which  the  Church  as  a  moral  teacher  is  nec- 
essarily concerned,  it  follows  that  the  churches  must  have  access 
to  the  information  which  will  enable  them  to  speak  authoritatively 
or  to  know  when  they  ought  to  remain  silent.  Such  information 
it  is  not  at  present  easy  to  obtain.  A  number  of  the  denominations 
have  established  Social  Service  Commissions  or  Departments 
whose  secretaries  co-operate  through  the  Social  Service  Com- 
mission of  the  Federal  Council.^  This  commission  has  recently 
established  a  Bureau  of  Research  for  the  purpose  of  concerted 
study  of  industrial  questions  from  the  Christian  point  of  view.  A 
more  ambitious  proposal  has  been  made  by  Professor  Small  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  who  suggests  the  appointment  of  a  perma- 
nent commission  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  Church  to  investi- 
gate controversies  between  capital  and  labor  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  moral  issues  involved.* 

The  cases  which  we  have  thus  far  cited,  of  immigration,  country 
life,  and  social  service,  are  but  the  most  conspicuous  examples  of 
administrative  specialization.  Other  illustrations  which  might  be 
given  are  Sunday  schools,  freedmen,  church  erection,  and  temper- 
ance, all  of  which  have  their  special  agencies,  in  some  cases  inde- 
pendent boards,  in  others  departments  or  committees.  It  is  a  fair 
question  whether  this  division  has  not  been  carried  too  far.  Would 
it  not  be  better  if  all  the  work  of  the  denominations  were  grouped 
in  three  or  at  most  four  comprehensive  agencies — which  might  then 

*  Cf .  "The  Causes  of  the  Trouble  in  Lawrence :  A  Report  on  the  Recent 
Strike,"  by  the  Rev.  Charles  R.  Brown,  D.D.,  1919,  The  Congregationalist, 
June  5,  1919. 

'  Cf.  "The  Denver  Tramway  Strike  of  1920,"  by  Edward  T.  Devine,  Ph.D., 
Rev.  John  A.  Ryan,  DD.,  and  John  A.  Lapp,  LL.D.,  published  by  the  Denver 
Commission  of  Religious  Forces,  1921. 

'E.g.,  Baptist,  Congregational,  Disciples  of  Christ,  Episcopal,  Lutheran, 
Methodist,  Presbyterian,  Reformed. 

*Cf.  A.  W.  Small,  "The  Church  and  Class  Conflicts,"  American  Journal  of 
Sociology,  March,  1919. 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  233 

subdivide  the  work  as  experience  showed  to  be  most  wise?^ 
This  is  a  question  which  is  likely  to  be  much  debated  in  the  next 
few  years.  However  it  is  decided,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  result 
reached  will  not  mean  the  abandonment  of  specialization,  but  only 
the  effort  to  guard  against  the  dangers  involved  in  over- 
specialization. 

What  the  home  boards  are  doing  for  the  home  field,  the  foreign 
boards  are  doing  for  the  work  across  the  sea,  the  only  difference 
being  that  in  their  case  a  single  agency  is  responsible  for  a  variety 
of  work  which  in  this  country  is  distributed  among  many  different 
agencies.  The  resulting  problems  of  organization  include  all  the 
problems  of  the  home  boards  and  others  beside.^  Here  also  there  is 
need  of  specialization  in  study  and  execution — a  need  intensified 
by  the  fact  that  the  workers  are  dealing  with  a  foreign  language 
and  an  unfamiliar  civilization.  Here,  too,  we  face  the  double  prob- 
lem of  discovering  what  ought  to  be  done  and  of  securing  the  means 
to  do  it.  Here  above  all  we  find  the  constant  demand  for  men  and 
women  competent  to  do  what  needs  to  be  done,  and  with  a  training 
that  will  fit  them  to  do  it.  With  such  responsibilities  it  is  not 
surprising  that  our  foreign  boards  have  sometimes  failed  to  realize 
their  ideal.  The  wonder  is  that  they  have  been  able  to  do  as  much 
as  they  have  done. 

In  spite  of  the  disadvantages  which  go  with  this  wide  exten- 
sion of  responsibility,  the  advantages  of  united  leadership  more 
than  counterbalance  them.  Those  who  are  responsible  for  our 
foreign-missionary  policy  are  by  the  nature  of  the  case  forced  to 
consider  the  field  as  a  whole.  All  the  problems  which  at  home 
are  divided  between  different  agencies — education,  building,  social 
service,  and  the  like,  as  well  as  evangelism  in  the  narrow  sense — 

'  The  present  practice  differs  widely  in  the  different  communions.  In  some 
churches  administrative  responsibility  is  concentrated  in  comparatively  few 
agencies,  in  others  it  is  widely  distributed.  Thus  the  Board  of  Missions  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  includes  both  home  and  foreign  missions, 
whereas  the  plan  followed  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  separated  interests 
as  closely  related  as  home  missions,  freedmen,  church  erection,  and  Sunday- 
school  work.  Other  denominations  uniting  home  and  foreign  missions  under  a 
single  board  are  the  Disciples,  the  Evangelical  Association,  the  Evangelical 
Synod  of  North  America,  the  Free  Methodist  Church  of  North  America,  and 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

^E.g.,  the  diplomatic  problems  which  grow  out  of  the  fact  that  the  work 
of  the  foreign  boards  is  carried  on  in  a  number  of  different  countries,  each 
with  its  own  government  and  laws. 


234  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

come  before  them  for  consideration.  The  result  is  a  comprehensive 
grasp  of  the  larger  problems  of  missionary  policy.  A  similar  con- 
centration of  leadership  and  policy  is  necessary  at  home,  to  fit  us 
to  deal  suitably  with  such  perplexing  questions  as,  for  example,  the 
supply  of  the  ministry. 

So  far  we  have  been  speaking  of  the  work  done  by  the  men's 
boards.  But  we  must  never  forget  that  this  is  only  a  part  of  the 
specialized  work  which  the  Church  is  doing  through  its  official 
agencies.  The  women  also  have  their  boards  of  home  and  foreign 
missions.  The  question  arises  whether  the  present  division  of  admin- 
istrative responsibility  between  men  and  women  is  a  wise  one  and, 
if  so,  whether  the  present  line  of  division  is  rightly  drawn.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  is  no  consistent  principle  followed  in  the 
existing  division  of  responsibility.  In  some  cases,  as  in  the  Board 
of  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  men  and 
women  sit  together  in  a  single  board  which  has  complete  charge 
of  the  church's  missionary  work.  In  others,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Woman's  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  U.  S.  A.,  the  women  assume  responsibility  for  the  administra- 
tion of  a  special  branch  of  the  work — in  this  case  schools  and  hos- 
pitals. In  still  others,  as  in  the  Woman's  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions of  the  same  church,  the  woman's  board  has  been  a  money- 
raising  organ  for  the  men's  board,  all  the  responsibility  for  admin- 
istration being  concentrated  in  that  agency.  It  does  not  seem 
likely  that  the  latter  arrangement  will  prove  permanently  satis- 
factory. With  the  growing  self-consciousness  of  women  they  are 
certain  to  demand  and  to  receive  complete  administrative  respon- 
sibility for  their  missionary  enterprises,  and  if  this  is  granted  it 
will  be  increasingly  difficult  to  draw  the  line  between  the  spheres 
in  which  each  sex  is  to  function  independently.  Some  unified  plan 
of  missionary  administration  including  both  men  and  women  seems 
to  be  the  goal  toward  which  we  are  moving.^ 

As  we  study  all  these  interests  we  are  constantly  reminded  of 
the  central  importance  of  sound  methods  of  education.  The 
boards  are  not  simply  agents  to  carry  out  the  will  of  the  churches; 
they  are  in  a  very  real  sense  teachers  of  the  Church  as  to  what 
ought  to  be  done.  Much  of  their  energy  is  spent  in  preparing 
informational  literature  and  in  bringing  home  to  the  consciences 
of  their  constituency  facts  regarding  the  needs  of  their  field  by 
^Cf.  p.  253. 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  235 

means  of  the  spoken  voice.  This  work  is  so  important  and  difficult 
that  they  are  unable  to  do  it  full  justice  alone  and  have  created 
to  assist  them  special  agencies  like  the  Board  of  Missionary  Prepa- 
ration.^ 

We  are  thus  brought  to  the  most  fundamental  of  all  the  tasks 
of  the  Church,  upon  the  successful  performance  of  which  all  the 
others  depend — the  task  of  Christian  education.  There  are  many 
different  agencies  operating  in  this  field.  These  agencies  are  of 
three  kinds:  (1)  those  which  have  to  do  with  the  Sunday  school; 
(2)  those  which  are  concerned  with  students  in  educational  insti- 
tutions— schools,  colleges,  and  universities;  (3)  those  which  are 
responsible  for  recruiting  and  training  the  ministry.  In  addition 
should  be  mentioned  the  promoting  agencies  which  serve  all  alike.^ 
The  relations  between  these  bodies  and  the  resulting  problems  of 
unity,  both  within  the  denomination  and  without,  will  later  claim  our 
attention. 

3.    Agencies  for  Interdenominational  Administrative   Unity — The 
Home  Missions  Council  and  the  Foreign  Missions  Confer- 
ence— Corresponding  Agencies  in  the  Field  of 
Christian  Education. 

A  survey  of  the  organizations  through  which  the  churches  are 
trying  to  meet  specific  tasks  makes  it  clear  that  it  is  impossible 
for  them  to  work  well  in  isolation.  Denominational  agencies  are 
already  co-operating  in  various  ways  and  are  creating  the  necessary 
and  appropriate  machinery.  The  term  "administrative  union"  has 
come  to  be  used  to  describe  such  official  co-operation. 

The  missionary  agencies  of  the  churches  are  united  in  the 
Home  Missions  Council  and  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of 

*The  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  was  founded  in  1911  as  a  result  of 
a  recommendation  of  the  Continuation  Committee  of  the  World  Conference 
of  1910,  to  secure  the  most  adequate  kind  and  quality  of  preparation  for  those 
who  are  training  for  foreign-missionary  service.  It  is  appointed  by,  and 
responsible  to,  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North  America,  the  official 
agency  through  which  the  foreign-missionary  boards  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada  co-operate. 

On  the  educational  work  of  the  home-missionary  agencies,  cf.  p.  237.  The 
most  important  part  of  this  is  done  through  the  Council  of  Women  for  Home 
Missions,  which  has  prepared  a  series  of  textbooks  for  mission-study  classes 
which  are  used  by  all  the  co-operating  denominations.     Cf.  also  p.  228. 

'  Of  these  the  most  important  are  the  Boards  of  Publication  which  print 
the  literature  which  the  other  boards  require  for  the  prosecution  of  their 
work. 


236  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

North  America,  both  of  which  are  official  bodies,  representing  and 
financed  by  the  co-operating  boards,^  maintaining  their  own  offices 
and  paid  secretaries,  meeting  annually  for  the  discharge  of  busi- 
ness, and  functioning  in  the  interim  through  committees  appointed 
for  that  purpose.  With  these  should  be  associated  the  Council  of 
Women  for  Home  Missions,  and  the  Federation  of  Woman's  Boards 
of  Foreign  Missions  of  North  America. 

The  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North  America  includes 
all  the  foreign-missionary  societies  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
It  meets  once  a  year  for  the  discussion  of  common  problems,  and 
in  the  course  of  its  history  has  succeeded  in  bringing  about  a  no- 
table spirit  of  unity  and  sympathy  between  the  responsible  heads  of 
the  Church's  missionary  enterprise.  It  has  its  permanent  office  and 
paid  secretaries  and  functions  during  the  intervals  of  its  stated 
meetings  through  a  committee  of  twenty-eight  persons  called  the 
Committee  of  Reference  and  Counsel.^ 

It  has  been  the  practice  of  the  Conference  not  to  initiate  work 
except  at  the  request  of  some  of  its  constituent  boards,  and  then 
only  with  the  approval  of  the  other  members.  In  the  course  of 
its  history  it  has  done  a  number  of  important  and  significant  pieces 
of  work,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  recent  study  of  rural 
education  in  India  ^  and  the  comprehensive  investigation  of  mis- 
sionary education  in  Africa  and  in  China.*  In  these  studies  it  has 
co-operated  with  the  missionary  agencies  of  other  countries  in 
establishing  standards  which  will  affect  the  work  of  missions  as  a 
whole. 

In  addition  to  its  educational  work  and  its  function  as  a 
clearing-house  of  information,  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  has 
been  able  to  deal  with  a  number  of  difficult  and  perplexing  ques- 
tions which  no  single  missionary  board  would  have  been  able  to 

*This  is  true  wholly  of  the  Home  Missions  Council.  In  the  case  of  the 
Foreign  Missions  Conference,  the  contributions  of  the  boards  are  supple- 
mented by  private  gifts. 

'The  permanent  office  of  the  Committee  of  Reference  and  Counsel  of  the 
Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North  America  is  in  New  York.  Mr.  Feimell 
P.  Turner  and  the  Rev.  Frank  W.  Bible  are  its  secretaries. 

*Cf.  "Village  Education  in  India:  Report  of  a  Commission  of  Inquiry," 
New  York,  1920. 

*  The  results  of  these  investigations  are  now  being  published  by  the  Foreign 
Missions  Conference  of  North  America  under  the  titles,  "Report  of  the  Africa 
Educational  Commission"  and  "Report  of  the  China  Educational  Commis- 
sion." 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  237 

cope  with  alone.  It  has  provided  an  agency  through  which  the 
missionary  forces  could  approach  the  government  of  the  United 
States  as  well  as  the  governments  of  other  countries  in  connection 
with  the  many  problems  which  affect  the  missionary  interests  in  the 
countries  in  which  the  boards  are  at  work. 

The  organization  of  the  Home  Missions  Council  is  similar, 
except  that  it  does  not  include  all  the  Canadian  Home  Mission 
Societies.^  Thirty-six  home-missionary  organizations  are  repre- 
sented in  its  membership.  It  has  its  office  in  New  York  and  main- 
tains a  considerable  office  staff.^  During  the  earlier  years  of  its 
history  the  Home  Missions  Council  was  primarily  a  consultative 
body  and  was  concerned  with  matters  of  comity  between  the  de- 
nominations. But  in  recent  years  it  has  begun  to  assume  a  much 
larger  measure  of  responsibility  and  is  now  functioning  actively 
through  a  number  of  special  committees  which  deal  with  such  sub- 
jects as  Alaska,  Indian  missions,  migrant  groups,  Negro  Ameri- 
cans, new  Americans,  Spanish-speaking  peoples,  comity  and  co- 
operation, etc.^ 

The  organization  and  function  of  the  women's  boards  are  similar 
to  those  of  the  men.  The  Council  of  Women  for  Home  Missions 
includes  nineteen  constituent,  twelve  affiliated,  and  five  co-operat- 
ing agencies  and  makes  a  specialty  of  publishing  mission  textbooks. 
The  Home  Missions  Council  and  the  Council  of  Women  for  Home 
Missions  have  offices  side  by  side.  They  have  joint  committees 
dealing  with  almost  every  phase  of  home-mission  work.  They 
publish  literature  together.  They  make  a  joint  annual  report  and 
use  a  common  letterhead.  Financial  appropriations  are  frequently 
made  by  one  to  the  other.  The  annual  meetings  of  the  two  Coun- 
cils are  held  at  the  same  time  and  place  and  many  of  the  sessions 
are  joint  sessions. 

In  the  foreign-missionary  field  the  relation  between  the  men's 

*At  present  two  Canadian  boards  are  members,  the  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions and  Social  Service  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada,  and  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Canada. 

'  Rev.  Alfred  Williams  Anthony,  D.D.,  is  secretary,  and  the  Rev.  Rodney 
W.  Roundy,  associate  secretary. 

*  There  are  no  less  than  eighteen  joint  committees  at  present  maintained 
by  the  Home  Missions  Council  and  the  Council  of  Women  for  Home  Mis- 
sions. These  committees  not  only  include  members  of  the  constituent  bodies, 
but  other  co-opted  members  whose  services  are  desired.  In  this  way  the 
co-operation  of  representatives  of  the  Christian  Associations  is  secured  in  the 
fields  where  they  are  at  work. 


238  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

and  women's  organizations  is  even  closer.  In  this  case  the  women's 
societies  have  equal  representation  with  the  men's  in  the  Foreign 
Missions  Conference  as  well  as  upon  all  its  committees.  The  same 
is  true  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association.  The  Federa- 
tion of  Woman's  Boards  of  Foreign  Missions  of  North  America 
brings  together  the  representatives  of  the  women's  foreign-mission- 
ary boards  for  purposes  of  consultation  on  matters  of  common 
interest,^  but  the  representation  of  the  individual  boards  in  the 
Foreign  Missions  Conference  is  independent  of  their  relation  to 
the  women's  organization.^ 

It  has  been  the  policy  both  of  the  Home  Missions  Council  and 
of  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  to  proceed  slowly  and  not  to 
seek  executive  responsibility.  As  the  names  indicate,  they  have 
been  primarily  bodies  for  conference  and  counsel.  Including  as 
they  do  representatives  of  churches  of  very  different  views,  they 
have  hesitated  to  do  anything  which  might  alienate  any  part  of 
their  constituency.  As  is  so  often  the  case,  the  body  that  goes 
slowest  tends  to  set  the  pace  for  the  rest.  Under  the  circumstances, 
the  policy  followed  has  probably  been  a  wise  one,  and  the  attempt 
to  assume  executive  functions  would  have  been  premature. 

At  the  same  time  this  caution  has  not  been  without  its  draw- 
backs. Had  the  Home  Missions  Council  and  the  Foreign  Missions 
Conference  been  in  a  position  to  assume  more  active  executive 
responsibility,  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  might  have  taken 
a  different  form  and  its  worst  dangers  and  evils  have  been  avoided. 
In  theory,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Interchurch  World  Movement  was 
a  movement  for  administrative  union  which  is  just  what  these 
bodies  are  designed  to  promote.  As  it  was,  instead  of  beginning 
with  these  bodies  and  using  their  experience  and  agencies  as  the 
nucleus  for  expansion,  a  start  was  made  from  a  completely  new 
centre,  with  a  corresponding  loss  of  energy  and  prestige. 

In  the  case  of  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference,  this  failure  has 
been  less  serious  than  in  the  case  of  the  Home  Missions  Council, 
because  in  the  various  continuation  committees^  the  Boards  of 

^E.g.,  on  such  matters  as  recruiting  for  missionary  service,  the  support  of 
union  women's  colleges  in  the  foreign  field,  etc. 

*  Where  the  women's  boards  are  separate  organizations,  they  appoint  their 
own  delegates.  Where  men  and  women  are  working  together  in  a  single 
organization,  the  representatives  are  appointed  by  the  unified  denominational 
agency. 

"Cf.  p.  53. 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  239 

Foreign  Missions  had  a  provisional  organization  through  which 
they  could  function  in  the  field/  In  general  it  may  be  said  tliat 
as  between  the  home  and  foreign  mission  interests,  the  conscious- 
ness of  unity  is  more  highly  developed  in  the  latter  than  in  the 
former.  This  is  due  no  doubt  in  part  to  the  greater  pressure  of 
need  in  the  foreign  field,  but  also  in  no  small  measure  to  the  fact 
that  the  foreign  boards,  operating  at  a  distance  from  the  home  base, 
are  more  independent  of  their  constituency  than  those  boards  which 
are  dealing  at  firsthand  with  the  local  churches  from  which  the 
bulk  of  their  support  is  drawn.  A  further  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  securing  unity  at  home  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  agencies  unit- 
ing in  the  Home  Missions  Council  are  not  only  more  numerous,  but 
represent  a  much  wider  distribution  of  authority  and  overlapping 
of  activities.^ 

But  the  difference  is,  after  all,  only  one  of  degree.  Both  in  the 
foreign  field  and  in  the  home  field  we  need  to  strengthen  and  dig- 
nify the  existing  organs  of  unity.  Much  will  depend  for  the  future 
of  the  Christian  Church  upon  whether  the  gap  left  vacant  by  the 
Interchurch  shall  be  filled  by  the  development  of  the  agencies  we 
already  have,  or  whether  a  new  agency  must  be  created.  For  it 
seems  clear  that  some  responsible  interdenominational  body  is 
needed  that  can  not  only  think  but  act  on  behalf  of  the  churches. 

Such  a  central  executive  body  is  needed  in  the  home  field  not 
only  to  do  the  things  which  the  experience  of  the  boards  shows  to 
be  desirable,  but  because  of  its  reflex  influence  upon  the  local 
church.  We  have  seen  that  the  community  church  movement  faces 
difficulties  because  of  the  lack  of  a  common  outlet  for  its  mission- 
ary zeal.  Either  it  must  divide  its  contributions  between  the 
denominations,  or  all  its  gifts  must  go  to  one.  If  the  denominations 
themselves  maintained  a  single  responsible  agency  through  which 
interdenominational  work  was  being  carried  on  on  behalf  of  all, 
this  difficulty  would  be  removed.  There  would  be  an  object,  equally 
dear  to  all,  to  which  all  could  give,  and  the  union  whicii  the  com- 
munity church  illustrates  at  the  bottom  would  be  matched  at  the 
top. 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  distinct  progress  is  being  made 
toward  realizing  this  end.    In  a  number  of  different  fields  the  work 

*A  significant  step  toward  such  an  organization  in  the  home  field  is  the 
recent  organization  of  the  Home  Missions  Council  of  Montana. 
'Cf.  "Report  of  the  Home  Missions  Council,"  1921,  pp.  254,  255. 


240  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  the  denominations  has  already  been  unified  by  the  Home  Mis- 
sions Council.  Conspicuous  among  these  are  the  work  in  Alaska, 
for  the  Indians,  at  Ellis  Island,  and  in  the  field  of  foreign-language 
publications.^  We  have  elsewhere  referred  to  the  admirable  work 
done  by  the  Council  in  Montana  in  unifying  the  home-missionary 
agencies  of  that  state.  The  same  is  true  to  a  less  degree  in  Utah 
and  in  Colorado.  Much  progress  has  been  made  toward  unifying 
the  work  for  Mexicans  and  for  Negroes,  and  a  promising  beginning 
has  been  made  in  co-ordinating  the  recruiting  activities  of  the  vari- 
ous denominations. 

The  same  influences  which  are  bringing  the  home  and  foreign- 
missionary  agencies  together  are  operating  in  the  field  of  religious 
education,  and  in  all  three  of  the  different  spheres  to  which  we  have 
already  referred.  The  Sunday-school  workers  have  had  no  less 
than  five  different  interdenominational  associations — the  Interna- 
tional Sunday  School  Association,  the  Sunday  School  Council  of 
Evangelical  Denominations,  the  American  Sunday-School  Union,^ 
the  International  Sunday  School  Lesson  Committee,  and  the  World's 
Sunday  School  Association,  of  which  the  second  (the  Sunday  School 
Council)  consists  of  the  official  Sunday-school  agencies  of  the 
denominations.  Negotiations  have  just  been  completed  for  a  union 
between  the  Sunday  School  Council  and  the  International  Sunday 
School  Association,  which  have  combined  to  form  the  International 
Sunday  School  Council  of  Religious  Education.  In  the  Council  of 
Church  Boards  of  Education  the  workers  in  the  cause  of  religious 
education  in  colleges  have  an  effective  organization.^  Most  re- 
cently the  theological  seminaries  of  the  country  have  formed  a 
conference,*  meeting  biennially,  which  furnishes  a  convenient  means 
for  the  interchange  of  opinion  among  those  who  are  working 
in  this  responsible  field.  Besides  these  larger  and  better  known 
agencies  there  are  a  number  of  other  associations  and  committees 

^  The  Joint  Committee  on  Foreign  Language  Publications  under  the  Home 
Missions  Council  is  planning  the  joint  publication  of  one  strong  periodical 
for  each  language  group  and  the  production  of  a  series  of  tracts  which  can  be 
used  by  any  denomination  under  its  own  imprint. 

"The  American  Sunday-School  Union  differs  from  the  others  in  that  it  is 
not  an  educational  but  a  promoting  agency.  Strictly  speaking,  therefore,  it 
should  be  classified  either  with  the  Home  Missions  Council  or  with  the  volun- 
tary societies  like  the  Christian  Associations  that  administer  as  well  as  teach. 

'Cf.  Christian  Education,  January,  1922,  "What  the  CouncU  of  Church 
Boards  of  Education  is  Doing." 

*  Cf.  pp.  322,  323. 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  241 

dealing  with  some  specialized  form  of  religious  education,  such  as 
the  associations  of  college  pastors  in  state  universities  and  of  Bibli- 
cal instructors  in  colleges  and  universities.  In  all  no  less  than 
fourteen  interdenominational  or  undenominational  agencies  are 
functioning  in  the  field  of  religious  education.^ 

All  these  are  distinctly  religious  organizations.  Besides  these 
are  the  secular  educational  institutions  of  the  country,  our  schools, 
our  colleges,  and  our  universities,  with  the  various  societies  and 
associations  through  which  they  function.  Many  of  these  are 
governed  and  taught  by  Christian  men  and  women  who  share  with 
us  our  interest  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  issues  at  stake.  No  pro- 
gramme of  Christian  education  can  be  adequate  which  fails  to 
utilize  their  experience  and  to  enlist  their  active  co-operation.  If 
religion  be  the  central  and  all-important  fact  that  we  believe  it  to 
be,  we  shall  never  fully  accomplish  our  aim  until  this  fact  is  recog- 
nized in  the  secular  teaching  which  forms  the  thinking  of  the  most 
influential  leaders  of  the  modern  world. 

There  is  thus  no  lack  of  agencies  at  our  disposal  through  which 
to  carry  out  our  campaign  of  education,  if  our  forces  are  properly 
unified  and  co-ordinated. 

An  invaluable  pioneer  work  in  the  way  of  co-ordination  has 
been  done  by  the  Religious  Education  Association,  a  voluntary 
society  including  not  only  Protestants,  but  Roman  Catholics  and 
Jews.  Through  this  association  the  field  has  been  mapped  out 
and  some  of  the  outstanding  desiderata  charted.-     More  recently 

'The  International  Sunday  School  Council  of  Religious  Education,  the 
Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Education,  the  International  Sunday  School  Les- 
son Committee,  the  American  Sunday-School  Union,  the  World's  Sunday 
School  Association,  the  Religious  Education  Association,  the  Missionary  Edu- 
cation Movement,  the  International  Committee  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Associations,  the  National  Board  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations, the  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation,  the  Conference  of  Theological 
Seminaries,  the  Association  of  Biblical  Instructors  in  American  Colleges  and 
Secondary  Schools,  the  Conference  of  Church  Workers  in  Universities,  the 
United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  the  International  Association  of  Daily 
Vacation  Bible  Schools. 

^During  the  twenty  years  of  its  existence,  the  Religious  Education  Asso- 
ciation has  gathered  those  who  have  been  interested  in  this  subject  for  peri- 
odical conferences.  It  has  impressed  church  leaders  and  teachers  with  a  new 
and  deeper  sense  of  the  need  and  value  of  religious  education.  It  has  enlisted 
scientific  educators  in  the  task  of  religious  education  and  broadened  the  popu- 
lar conception  so  as  to  include  vital  and  social  processes  as  well  as  formal 
instruction.  It  has  developed  a  professional  group  in  its  field,  pointed  the 
•way  to  new  and  better  methods,  and  secured  the  co-operation  of  persons  of 


242  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  attempt  has  been  made  to  create  a  permanent  organization  of 
the  various  interdenominational  agencies  that  represent  organized 
Protestantism.  At  the  suggestion  of  all  the  bodies  concerned  tKe 
Federal  Council  called  a  conference  of  the  representatives  of  these 
agencies  to  consider  the  needs  of  the  field  as  a  whole.  This  con- 
ference met  at  Garden  City  on  May  12-14,  1921,  and  appointed  a 
Continuation  Committee  to  effect  a  permanent  organization.  In 
the  meantime  this  committee  was  given  authority  to  provide  for 
such  preliminary  committees  as  seemed  called  for.  At  the  request 
of  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook,  the  Con- 
tinuation Committee  has  assumed  the  responsibility  for  bringing 
out  the  projected  volume  on  "The  Teaching  Work  of  the  Church," 
to  which  reference  has  already  been  made.  In  this  volume  it  is 
hoped  to  give  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  entire  field  of  Christian 
education,  to  point  out  the  problems  which  need  to  be  solved  and 
the  agencies  which  are  at  work  on  their  solution,  and  to  suggest 
the  most  important  lines  of  progress  for  the  immediate  future. 

4.     Voluntary  Agencies  for  Specialized  Service — The  History  and 

Expanding  Work  of  the  Christian  Associations — Problems 

Confronting  the  Associations  To-day 

No  study  of  the  co-operative  movement  would  be  complete 
without  some  account  of  the  voluntary  societies  through  which 
Christians  of  different  denominations  are  working  together  in  unof- 
ficial but  none  the  less  effective  ways.  They  deal  with  many  dif- 
ferent phases  of  Christian  activity.  Among  the  best  known  are  the 
American  Bible  Society,  the  American  Sunday-School  Union,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association,  the  American  Tract  Society,  the  Young  People's  So- 
ciety of  Christian  Endeavor,  the  Anti-Saloon  League,  the  Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  and  the  American  Sabbath  Associa- 
tion. The  Bible  Society  is  officially  recognized  by  most  of  the 
churches.  The  Temperance  and  Sabbath  Associations  have  re- 
ceived the  endorsement  of  many  of  them.    Together  they  consti- 

all  sects,  faiths,  and  communions.  It  has  published  about  15,000  pages  of 
material,  held  hundreds  of  conventions  and  conferences,  conducted  surveys, 
promoted  experiments,  established  standards,  and  brought  about  co-operation. 
It  conducts  a  bureau  of  information,  a  reference  library,  a  personnel  bureau, 
and  a  clearing-house  of  activities. 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  243 

tute  one  of  the  most  characteristic  expressions  of  American  Protes- 
tantism.^ 

The  two  Christian  Associations  will  serve  as  illustrations.  Of 
all  the  voluntary  societies  of  Protestantism  they  most  nearly  paral- 
lel the  work  of  the  churches.  Other  organizations  deal  with  some 
particular  phase  of  Christian  service,  such  as  education  or  missions, 
but  in  the  Associations  the  only  restriction  is  that  of  age  and  sex.^ 
Whatever  can  be  done  to  help  young  men  or  young  women,  whether 
along  physical,  intellectual,  social,  or  religious  lines,  comes  within 
their  scope.  Geographically,  too,  their  service  has  no  boundary. 
Like  the  churches,  they  work  in  the  foreign  field  as  well  as  at 
home.  In  the  course  of  their  work  they  meet  all  the  specialized 
problems  we  have  been  considering.  It  is  instructive,  therefore,  to 
learn  how  they  are  dealing  with  them  and  what  relation  their  work 
bears  to  that  of  the  agencies  already  described. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  began  as  a  highly 
specialized  and  thoroughly  democratic  institution.  It  was  an  asso- 
ciation of  Christian  laymen  who  had  banded  themselves  together 
to  work  for  young  men;  or  rather,  it  was  a  group  of  associations. 
The  central  organization  that  we  now  know  as  the  International 
Committee  came  into  existence  later  and  its  relation  to  the  co- 
operating associations  which  form  its  constituency  has  been  pro- 
gressively defined  as  a  result  of  enlarging  experience.^ 

The  history  of  the  Association  has  been  marked  by  three  fea- 
tures: (1)  an  enlarging  programme;  (2)  increased  resources,  both 
financial  and  personal;  (3)  a  growing  tendency  to  extend  its  work 
along  lines  which  parallel  the  work  of  the  denominational  boards. 

The  programme  of  the  Association  includes,  as  is  well  known, 
social  and  educational  as  well  as  religious  features.  It  does  for 
the  young  men  and  boys  who  are  its  members  what  the  institutional 

*Cf.  Willett,  "Undenominational  Movements  in  the  United  States"  in 
"Christian  Unity,"  pp.  258-283. 

'Originally  interested  mainly  in  evangelistic  and  social  work,  they  have 
added  educational  and  physical  features,  a  field  in  which  they  have  antici- 
pated much  that  the  churches  are  now  doing. 

"On  the  history  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  cf.  R.  C.  Morse,  "My  Life  with  Young 
Men:  Fifty  Years  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,"  New  York, 
1918;  Year  Book  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of  North 
America,  New  York,  1920 ;  Summary  of  the  World  War  Work  of  the  American 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  New  York,  1920. 


244  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

church  tries  to  do  for  all  the  people  in  its  neighborhood.^  In  addi- 
tion the  Association  has  been  led  by  a  natural  and  entirely  legiti- 
mate process  to  do  other  things  which  do  not  concern  young  men 
and  boys  simply,  but  have  to  do  with  the  welfare  of  the  community 
for  which  it  works  or  the  group  of  people  whom  it  serves.  Thus 
the  city  work  of  the  Association  has  led  it  to  gather  representatives 
of  the  churches  for  conference  on  civic  betterment.  Its  county 
work  has  made  it  necessary  to  work  for  women  as  well  as  men. 
In  local  communities  where  the  church  was  recreant  to  its  duty  the 
Association  has  found  itself  forced  to  make  up  for  this  lack  by 
ministering  to  the  family.  On  the  foreign  field  especially  the  rela- 
tion between  the  Association  and  the  churches  has  been  especially 
close,  and  while  scrupulously  observing  its  charter  as  an  agency  of 
the  churches,  not  as  a  rival  denomination,  it  has  yet  been  doing 
things  which  in  other  places  the  missionaries  are  doing  themselves. 
As  a  result,  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  sphere  of  the  official 
and  voluntary  agencies  has  become  increasingly  difiicult  to 
discern. 

This  is  especially  evident  in  the  field  of  publication  and  religious 
education.  Through  its  press  and  its  Bible  class  work,  the  Associa- 
tion has  entered  a  field  which  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  the 
churches,  and  the  need  of  a  correlation  of  programme  and  a  defini- 
tion of  responsibility  becomes  increasingly  apparent.^ 

What  is  true  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  applies 
to  a  less  but  still  to  an  appreciable  degree  to  the  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association.^  Beginning  in  a  restricted  sphere,  this 
Association  has  also  been  led  to  extend  its  activities  and  to  enter 
fields  in  which  other  agencies  of  the  Church  were  already  at  work. 
Like  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  it  begins  to  parallel 
the  work  of  the  Church  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Some  definition 
of  its  relation  to  the  official  women's  agencies  of  the  churches  as 

*  Of  its  million  members,  over  twenty  per  cent,  are  boys  in  their  teens. 

^An  interesting  experiment  in  co-ordination  is  being  tried  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Education  through  the  so-called 
Geneva  plan — a  plan  through  which  the  ofRcial  representatives  of  the  churches 
co-operate  with  the  Association  in  presenting  the  appeal  of  the  various  forms 
of  church  work  to  the  students  gathered  at  the  summer  conferences  of  the 
Association. 

*Cf.  Wilson,  "Fifty  Years  of  Association  Work";  cf.  also  the  Handbook  of 
the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  Movement,  1916;  Report  of  the 
War  Work  Council  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associations  from  1917- 
1919. 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  245 

well   as  to  the  Church   as   a  whole   seems  therefore   a   desider- 
atum.^ 

The  problems  thus  briefly  suggested  have  been  accentuated  for 
both  Associations  by  the  war.  The  war  proved  that  in  these  organ- 
izations the  Church  possessed  auxiliaries  of  the  highest  value,  but 
it  showed  also  the  need  of  defining  the  sphere  in  which  each  was 
to  work  and  the  limits  of  its  responsibility.  We  must  find  answers 
to  such  questions  as  these:  How  far  are  the  Associations,  as  at  pres- 
ent organized,  prepared  to  do  the  work  which  they  are  actually 
doing?  How  far  do  they  need  changes  in  their  theoretical  basis 
and  methods  of  administration?  What  should  be  the  relation  of 
the  Associations  to  each  other?  Is  the  present  policy  of  independ- 
ence a  good  one;  or  has  the  time  come  for  a  merger  or,  if  not,  for 
some  supplementary  organization  including  both  men  and  women 
and  operating  with  the  family  as  its  basis?  What  is  the  relation 
of  the  Associations  to  the  churches?  Is  the  present  state  of  inde- 
pendence still  desirable,  and  if  so  how  can  we  secure  that  thorough 
co-operation  of  all  the  Christian  forces  which  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement  tried  to  bring  about  and  which  is  needed  now 
more  than  ever? 

The  question  how  far  the  Associations  as  at  present  organized 
are  fitted  to  do  the  work  which  they  have  set  themselves  to  do  is 
one  which  primarily  concerns  the  Associations  themselves,  and  in- 
volves matters  of  detail  which  it  would  be  manifestly  impossible, 
even  if  it  were  proper,  to  discuss  here.  But  the  central  question  is 
one  of  general  interest,  for  it  has  to  do  with  principles  which  apply 
to  the  denominations  as  well.  That  question  is  this:  How  far  can 
executive  responsibility  of  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  that 
now  exercised  by  the  Associations  be  wisely  assumed  by  a  group  of 
independent  and  self-governing  bodies  like  the  local  associations 
which  meet  in  convention  only  once  every  two  or  three  years? 
What  authority  shall  attach  to  the  central  body  appointed  by  this 
convention  to  act  for  it  during  the  interval  between  conventions? 
In  what  ways  shall  this  body  keep  in  touch  with  its  constituency 

*In  two  respects  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  is  doing  im- 
portant pioneer  work  of  special  value  for  the  churches.  In  its  training  school 
for  secretaries  it  is  working  out  methods  for  the  training  of  women  workers 
which  deserve  careful  study  by  those  who  are  responsible  for  the  training  of 
such  workers  in  other  fields.  In  the  vexed  field  of  industrial  relations  it  is 
conducting  studies  and  establishing  relations  that  are  full  of  promise  for  the 
future. 


246  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

and  to  what  extent  should  it  feel  free  to  act  on  its  own  responsibility 
in  initiating  changes  in  policy  which  may  seem  necessary  to  meet 
some  unforeseen  emergency?  In  view  of  the  important  questions 
of  principle  to  be  determined  by  the  Associations,  such  questions 
as  their  future  industrial  policy  or  the  religious  basis  of  their  mem- 
bership, it  is  essential  that  the  question  of  primary  responsibility 
should  be  clearly  defined. 

Other  questions  which  press  for  a  solution  concern  the  relation 
of  the  Associations  to  each  other.  During  the  war  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  employed  women  workers.  Are  they 
still  to  do  so  now  that  peace  has  come?  In  many  communities  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  find  women  for  whom  no  work 
is  being  done  by  women.  Are  they  to  neglect  them  or  shall  they 
broaden  the  basis  of  their  appeal?  So  in  the  war  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association  opened  Hostess  Houses  in  the  camps 
which,  while  primarily  designed  for  the  wives  and  sisters  of  the 
soldiers,  helped  to  keep  up  the  morale  of  the  men  as  well.  Are  they 
to  do  similar  work  in  peace?  Have  they  a  ministry  to  men  as  well 
as  to  women? 

The  question  becomes  acute  in  smaller  communities  where  the 
number  of  the  population  does  not  justify  specialized  work  either 
for  men  or  women.  What  is  to  be  done  here?  Some  inclusive 
organization  seems  called  for  which,  operating  on  the  same  prin- 
ciples as  the  Associations  but  with  the  family  as  its  unit,  can  co- 
operate with  the  local  church  in  bringing  to  the  community  every 
form  of  helpful  influence.^  The  question  is  at  least  worth  raising 
whether  the  time  has  not  come  for  such  an  inclusive  organization. 
If  we  decide  that  it  is  needed,  the  further  question  arises  how  it 
shall  be  constituted.  Shall  it  be  formed  by  the  union  of  the  pres- 
ent Associations  or,  if  this  seems  inexpedient,  can  some  larger  body 
be  created  in  which  both  Associations  and  churches  shall  be  repre- 
sented to  map  out  the  field  as  a  whole  and  delegate  to  each  agency 
the  task  which  it  is  best  fitted  to  discharge? 

The  experience  of  the  Salvation  Army  is  a  case  in  point.  The 
army  is  an  agency  in  many  respects  like  the  Associations,  although 
governed  in  a  more  autocratic  way.  It  specializes  in  ministry  to 
the  outcast  and  the  submerged,  but  makes  no  distinction  of  sex. 

^It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  some  counties  (e.g.,  Nassau  and  Suffolk 
Counties,  Long  Island)  the  two  Associations  are  already  co-operating  along 
the  lines  suggested  in  the  text. 


THE  CHURCH  SPECIALIZING  FOR  SERVICE  247 

Its  unit  is  the  family,  and  this  is  true  not  only  of  those  for  whom 
it  works,  but  of  the  workers  as  well.  In  the  army  there  is  complete 
equality  of  the  sexes.  Men  and  women  work  side  by  side;  and  a 
woman  may  command  as  well  as  a  man.  In  the  Salvation  Army 
we  see  the  Roman  Catholic  conception  of  a  monastic  order  joined 
to  the  Protestant  principle  of  the  family.  It  is  worth  considering 
whether  the  method  thus  followed  is  not  capable  of  wider  adapta- 
tion; whether  in  ways  more  democratic,  but  no  less  effective,  it 
may  not  be  possible  to  utilize  the  immense  spiritual  resources  of 
America,  its  womanhood  as  well  as  its  manhood,  for  a  constructive, 
nation-wide  work  that  shall  translate  the  dream  of  the  Interchurch 
World  Movement  into  a  reality. 

This  leads  us  to  the  last  of  the  questions  concerning  the  future 
of  the  Associations;  namely,  that  which  has  to  do  with  their  rela- 
tion to  the  churches.  At  present  that  relation  is  an  anomalous 
one.^  It  is  their  wish  to  be  auxiliaries  of  the  churches,  not  rival 
denominations.  Yet  they  are  entirely  independent  and  self-direct- 
ing. Unlike  the  orders  in  Roman  Catholicism  which  give  us  our 
nearest  parallel,  there  is  no  central  authority  to  which  they  owe 
allegiance.  Whatever  adjustment  there  may  be  between  them  and 
the  official  church  agencies  must  be  voluntary.  Several  possibili- 
ties suggest  themselves.  The  churches  may  be  given  the  right  to 
appoint  representatives  on  the  governing  boards  of  the  Associations 
as  has  been  proposed  by  the  National  Council  of  the  Scottish 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  to  the  Presbyterian  churches  of  Scotland.^  Or  there 
may  be  stated  conferences  at  which  policies  are  agreed  upon  and 
spheres  of  influence  defined.^    Or  some  larger  inclusive  body  may 

*This  fact  has  been  recognized  by  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
which  at  its  convention  in  Detroit  in  1919  authorized  the  International  Com- 
mittee to  appoint  a  commission  to  enter  into  negotiations  with  the  leading 
evangelical  denominations  for  a  careful  study  of  the  relations  obtaining  be- 
tween the  evangelical  churches  and  the  Association.  Cf.  the  Report  of  the 
Commission  on  the  Relation  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  to 
the  Churches;  also  "Christian  Unity,"  pp.  126-132,  esp.  p.  132. 

^For  the  details  of  this  proposal  cf.  the  Statement  of  Progre.-^s  made  toward 
a  Closer  Relationship  and  Co-operation  between  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  and  the  Churches  in  Scotland,  by  the  Church  and  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Relationship  Committee,  Edinburgh,  1921. 

^Opportunities  for  such  conference  are  now  furnished  by  the  presence  of 
representatives  of  the  two  Associations  as  consulting  members  of  the  Admin- 
istrative Committee  of  the  Federal  Council,  of  which  a  fuller  account  will  be 
given  in  the  next  chapter.  A  representative  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  an  honorary 
member  of  the   Home   Missions   Council   and  several   of   its   secretaries   are 


248  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

be  created  in  which  both  may  be  included,  in  which  executive  as 
well  as  advisory  powers  can  be  centred  and  which  would  represent 
the  Church  as  a  whole. 

Whatever  the  final  adjustment  may  be,  it  must  be  such  as  to 
conserve  the  freedom  and  initiative  of  the  Associations.  In  an 
enterprise  as  many-sided  as  that  of  the  Christian  Church,  it  is 
never  possible  to  move  the  whole  body  as  fast  as  it  ought  to  go. 
There  must  always  be  pioneers  who  go  before  and  map  out  the 
course.  To  these  must  be  accorded  the  freedom  to  experiment  in 
new  fields.  Such  pioneers  the  Associations  have  been,  and  they 
will  be  truest  to  themselves  if  they  keep  to  this  conception  of  their 
task.  Much  that  they  were  once  doing  alone  is  now  being  done  as 
well  or  better  by  the  churches.  Where  this  is  true  let  them  be  glad 
and  count  it  the  highest  proof  of  their  success.  There  are  broad 
fields  still  unoccupied  in  which  the  kind  of  service  the  Associations 
can  render  was  never  more  needed  than  to-day.  In  entering  these 
fields  the  Associations  will  find  opportunity  for  an  enlarging  min- 
istry. Only  let  it  be  clearly  understood  on  both  sides  what  these 
fields  are,  and  as  they  move  forward  may  it  be  not  as  rivals  but 
as  allies  of  the  churches. 

An  indispensable  condition  of  any  satisfactory  adjustment  is 
that  the  churches  themselves  should  come  together.  With  a 
divided  Church  it  is  impossible  for  bodies  as  strong  as  the  Associa- 
tions to  deal.  Hence  we  are  led  inevitably  to  the  third  and  last 
branch  of  our  practical  inquiry;  namely,  what  the  churches  in  their 
corporate  capacity  are  doing  to  realize  their  union  with  one  another. 

members  of  the  sub-committees  of  that  body.  The  Y.  W.  C.  A.  as  a  con- 
sulting body  is  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Women  for  Home  Missions  and 
representatives  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  serve  on  the  committees  both  of  the  Home 
Missions  Council  and  of  the  Council  of  Women  for  Home  Missions,  as  well 
as  on  the  joint  committees  of  the  two  bodies.  Both  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  are  constitu- 
ent members  of  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  and  their  representatives 
are  eligible  for  service  on  its  various  committees. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    CHURCHES    GETTING    TOGETHER 

1.    Obstacles  to  Christian  Unity  Presented  by  the  Existing 
Situation  in  the  Denominations 

By  whatever  road  we  have  travelled  we  have  been  led  to  the 
same  conclusion,  that  the  chance  of  the  Church's  becoming  what  it 
ought  to  be  depends  upon  the  churches  getting  together.  We  have 
seen  this  in  connection  with  our  study  of  the  local  congregation. 
We  have  seen  it  in  connection  with  the  administrative  work  of  the 
churches  as  carried  on  by  their  official  boards.  We  have  seen  it 
finally  in  connection  with  the  relation  between  the  churches  and 
the  Associations.  In  each  case  the  attempt  to  secure  effective  co- 
operation meets  obstacles  which  can  only  be  overcome  by  the 
united  action  of  the  denominations  as  a  whole.  This  is  the  situa- 
tion which  the  movement  for  unity  in  its  inclusive  form  is  designed 
to  meet. 

This  movement,  as  we  have  seen,  encounters  an  unexpected  dif- 
ficulty. It  is  the  difficulty  of  the  lack  of  unity  within  the  denomi- 
nations themselves.  Even  if  they  wished  to  unite,  they  are  not  in 
a  position  to  do  so  efTectively,  for  they  have  not  yet  devised  the 
agencies  through  which  they  can  put  the  will  to  unity  into  practice. 

This  weakness  in  denominational  organization  appears  both  in 
the  nature  of  the  governing  bodies,  and  in  that  of  the  intermediate 
divisions  through  which  these  bodies  function. 

There  is  great  variety  in  the  method  by  which  the  different 
churches  are  governed.  In  some  the  affairs  of  the  church  are  cared 
for  by  a  General  Council  or  Convention,  meeting  only  once  in  three 
or  four  years;  in  others  the  supreme  judicatory  meets  annually. 
In  some  it  consists  of  two  houses,  as  of  bishops  and  lay  delegates. 
In  others  it  is  a  single  assembly.  In  some  it  commands  large 
powers,  and  can  act  on  its  own  initiative.  In  others  these  powers 
are  strictly  limited  by  the  necessity  of  reference  to  the  congrega- 
tions represented.     In  some  this  representation  is  immediate  and 

249 


250  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

all  churches  have  a  right  to  send  or  at  least  to  vote  for  delegates. 
In  others  the  representation  is  mediate,  through  presbytery,  classis, 
or  diocese.  But  in  each  case  the  power  to  act  for  the  denomina- 
tion as  a  whole  is  confined  to  the  highest  body,  and  during  the 
period  between  the  sessions  of  this  body  this  power  is  correspond- 
ingly limited. 

This  difficulty,  as  we  have  seen,  was  keenly  felt  during  the  war. 
In  the  case  of  those  churches  whose  supreme  body  did  not  meet  in 
1917,  various  devices  had  to  be  resorted  to.  Agencies  of  the  Church 
designed  for  different  purposes  were  forced  to  act  to  meet  the 
emergency.  Others  were  created  by  voluntary  action  in  the  hope 
that  what  they  did  would  be  ratified  later.  The  same  causes 
which  made  it  desirable  for  the  churches  to  be  able  to  act  promptly 
during  the  war  are  operative  in  peace,  and  their  inability  so  to  act 
has  similar  disastrous  consequences. 

It  may  be  said  indeed  that  this  need  of  a  permanent  executive 
is  supplied  by  the  various  boards  and  other  agencies  whose  work 
we  have  described.  Up  to  a  certain  point  this  is  true.  But  these 
boards  are  strictly  limited  by  their  charters  to  specific  tasks.  They 
have  no  power  to  assume  new  responsibility.  In  the  division  of 
powers  between  them  many  promising  opportunities  go  unutilized. 
What  is  needed  is  some  permanent  body  inclusive  of  the  different 
interests  which  can  be  clothed  with  the  full  powers  of  the  denomi- 
nation, and  can  act  in  its  name  during  the  interval  between  con- 
ventions or  assemblies.  The  Christian  Associations,  facing  a  similar 
problem,  have  created  such  central  bodies  in  the  International 
Committee  and  the  National  Board.  The  churches  have  no  cor- 
responding central  executive  authority,  and  this  lack  is  one  of  the 
most  serious  obstacles  to  effective  Christian  union.^ 

Apart  from  the  limitations  thus  put  upon  the  ability  of  the 
churches  to  co-operate  effectively,  there  are  various  ways  in  which 
the  lack  of  such  a  central  executive  body  limits  the  efficiency  of 
the  denominations  themselves.  It  makes  impossible  any  compre- 
hensive plan  for  the  location  or  merging  of  churches.    It  leaves  the 

*This  is  true  not  only  at  home  but  on  the  foreign  field.  A  more  serious 
obstacle  to  union  even  than  the  presence  of  separate  denominations  working 
side  by  side  is  the  existence  of  a  number  of  independent  local  committees 
within  the  same  denomination  without  any  central  executive  competent  to 
speak  for  the  mission  as  a  whole.  One  of  the  most  encouraging  steps  toward 
unity  on  the  foreign  field  has  been  the  progress  which  has  been  made  toward 
unifying  the  different  missions  within  each  denomination. 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  251 

individual  minister  at  the  mercy  of  the  local  congregation;  or  at 
best  of  the  intermediate  ecclesiastical  body  of  which  the  congrega- 
tion is  a  constituent  part.  It  leaves  the  church  theoretically  one, 
but  without  any  agency  through  which  to  realize  its  unity  in  prac- 
tice. It  is  as  though  Congress  tried  to  run  the  government  with- 
out any  executive  and  then  decided  to  meet  only  once  in  two  or 
three  years,  and  never  for  more  than  a  week  or  ten  days. 

In  more  highly  organized  churches  like  the  Presbyterian  and 
Episcopal,  these  diflEiculties  are  partially  overcome  by  the  existence 
of  intermediate  units  like  the  presbytery  or  the  diocese.  In  theory 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  presbytery  as  it  is  of  the  bishop  to  care  for 
the  churches  within  a  definite  geographical  area;  but  apart  from 
the  fact  that  the  power  thus  theoretically  given  is  often  unused  or 
used  ineffectively,  the  plan  makes  no  provision  for  securing  unity 
of  action  between  the  executives  of  the  intermediate  units.  One 
bishop  may  pursue  a  policy  in  his  diocese  which  is  diametrically 
opposed  to  that  of  his  neighbor  in  the  next.  The  existence  of  a 
strong,  well-organized  presbyter>'  or  classis  is  no  guarantee  at  all 
that  its  neighbor's  presbyterial  duty  of  supervision  will  not  be 
altogether  neglected.  In  the  Methodist  Church  alone,  through  its 
system  of  rotation  in  office,  an  administrative  policy  is  possible  on 
a  truly  national  scale,  and  even  here  the  power  of  the  church  to 
initiate  radical  change  is  limited  by  the  infrequency  of  the  meet- 
ings of  the  General  Conference. 

Serious  as  is  the  weakness  of  the  present  system  on  its  admin- 
istrative side,  its  failure  as  an  educational  agency  is  even  more 
serious.  In  the  Protestant  Church,  no  central  executive  authority 
can  impose  its  will  from  without.  The  Church  as  a  whole  can  do 
only  what  its  constituent  members  determine  shall  be  done,  and  for 
this  there  must  be  a  common  public  opinion  formed  by  intelligent 
discussion  in  the  light  of  all  the  facts  in  the  case. 

At  no  other  point  is  the  weakness  of  our  present  denominational 
system  more  apparent.  There  exist  no  adequate  organs  for  the 
formation  of  public  opinion  on  the  questions  which  concern  the 
denomination  as  a  whole,  nor  is  it  likely  that  this  need  will  be 
supplied  until  a  central  body  is  established  charged  with  responsi- 
bility for  the  affairs  of  the  entire  denomination  and  obliged, 
therefore,  to  consult  its  constituency  as  to  what  the  denomination 
shall  do. 

The  larger  denominations  are  beginning  to  realize  the  disad- 


252  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

vantages  of  the  present  state  of  affairs,  and  various  attempts  are 
being  made  to  secure  the  needed  unity.  Among  them  may  be  men- 
tioned the  denominational  forward  movements  to  which  we  have 
already  referred,  such  as  the  Presbyterian  New  Era,  the  Methodist 
Centenary,  the  Baptist  New  World  Movement,  and  the  like.^ 
These  movements,  like  the  Interchurch  World  Movement,  have 
limited  powers  and  are  concerned  more  with  raising  money  for  the 
churches  than  with  spending  it.  Still  they  have  proved  useful  in 
developing  the  sense  of  denominational  responsibility  and  unity, 
and  may  well  serve  to  prepare  the  way  for  something  better. 

A  characteristic  feature  of  these  denominational  forward  move- 
ments has  been  the  attention  given  to  education  in  denominational 
responsibility.  A  campaign  has  been  carried  on  in  the  different 
churches,  not  in  the  interest  of  any  particular  board  or  agency,  but 
of  the  work  of  the  Church  as  a  whole.  Literature  has  been  created 
and  thought  has  been  stimulated;  and  while  mistakes  have  been 
made  which  larger  experience  might  have  avoided,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  net  result  has  been  good. 

A  second  method  of  securing  the  needed  unification  is  through 
the  creation  of  a  central  Executive  Committee  to  represent  and  act 
for  the  denomination  between  conventions.  Thus  the  Episcopal 
Church  has  its  presiding  Bishop  and  Council;  the  Presbyterian 
Church  its  Executive  Commission;  the  Lutherans  their  Executive 
Board;  the  Baptists  their  Board  of  Promotion,  and  so  forth.^  These 
are  useful  additions  to  the  machinery  of  the  Church.  But  they  are 
weak  in  two  respects.  They  do  not  include  all  the  men  most  impor- 
tant for  determining  the  Church's  policy;  they  lack  the  requisite 
power  to  act  effectively  in  matters  of  consequence. 

'  Cf.  p.  120. 

^The  ad  interim  committees  of  the  various  larger  denominations  are  as 
follows:  The  Presiding  Bishop  and  Council  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church;  the  Executive  Board  of  the  United  Lutheran  Church  in  America; 
the  General  Board  of  Promotion  of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention;  the 
Council  of  the  Boards  of  Benevolence  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church; 
the  Executive  Commission  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.  The 
Congregationalists  have  no  single  co-ordinating  committee  that  acts  for  the 
denomination  as  a  whole.  There  is,  however,  a  Commission  on  Missions  of 
the  National  Council  which  is  provided  for  constitutionally  and  elected  by  the 
Council  to  co-ordinate  all  its  missionary  work.  Other  matters  that  affect 
general  denominational  interests  are  dealt  with  by  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  National  Council, 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  253 

Both  these  limitations  are  due  to  the  distrust  of  a  strong  cen- 
tral authority  which  has  been  so  characteristic  of  American  life. 
The  churches,  like  the  cities  and  states  after  which  their  govern- 
ment was  modelled,  have  preferred  to  suffer  the  tyranny  of  irre- 
sponsible bosses  whose  acts  they  could  disown,  rather  than  to  en- 
trust power  to  responsible  agents  whom  they  could  control.  In 
the  Presbyterian  Church  this  fear  of  centralized  authority  has  been 
carried  so  far  as  to  disqualify  any  one  who  is  a  member  of  any  of 
the  boards  of  the  church  from  serving  upon  the  executive  com- 
mission which  is  to  determine  the  policy  which  the  boards  are  to 
execute. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  pressure  of  need  will  lead  to  a 
change  in  this  policy.  Indeed,  signs  are  not  wanting  to  show  that 
such  a  change  is  already  taking  place.  In  the  Presbyterian  Church 
a  Committee  of  the  General  Assembly  is  at  work  upon  plans  which, 
if  carried  out,  would  greatly  strengthen  the  central  authority.^ 
Both  in  the  Episcopal  and  Lutheran  Churches  the  existing  com- 
mittees are  proving  themselves  effective  unifying  agencies.  Even 
in  the  Congregational  and  Baptist  Churches  the  centralizing 
tendency  is  evident,  and  during  the  interval  between  conventions, 
the  permanent  officers  are  assuming  larger  executive  powers. 

A  further  difficulty  in  the  way  of  effective  union  is  found  in 
the  nature  of  the  intermediate  divisions  through  which  the  churches 
function.  In  all  the  larger  denominations  it  has  been  necessar\'  to 
establish  intermediate  agencies  between  the  central  national  body 
and  the  local  bodies  it  represents;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the 
Christian  Associations.  These  units  differ  in  different  churches. 
In  the  Episcopal  Church  this  unit  is  the  diocese.  In  the  Pres- 
byterian it  is  the  presbytery  and  the  synod ;  in  the  Dutch  Reformed 
the   classis;    in   the   Methodist   Church   the   district,    and   so   on. 

*  Since  these  lines  were  written  the  Committee's  report  has  been  adopted 
by  the  General  Assembly.  This  report  consolidates  the  sixteen  boards  and 
agencies  of  the  church  into  four  new  boards,  namely,  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  the  Board  of  National  Missions,  the  Board  of  Christian  Educa- 
tion and  the  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  and  Sustentation.  The  Boards  of 
Foreign  Missions  and  National  Missions  will  be  composed  both  of  men  and 
women  in  the  proportion  of  twenty-five  to  fifteen.  The  Assembly  further 
referred  to  the  presbyteries  for  their  consideration  the  Committee's  recom- 
mendation that  a  council  of  twenty-seven  members  should  be  created  with  a 
permanent  paid  executive,  on  which  representatives  of  the  new  boards  should 
serve  with  other  members  appointed  by  the  church  at  large. 


254  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

These  different  bodies  have  different  powers,  and  if  their  personnel 
be  reactionary  or  unsympathetic  can  effectively  block  a  policy 
which  has  the  approval  of  the  central  body.  This  provision,  like 
the  parallel  arrangement  between  the  state  and  the  nation,  has  its 
advantages  in  that  it  increases  the  opportunity  of  experiment,  and 
so  the  interchange  of  experience,  but  it  makes  it  difficult  to  carry 
out  a  consistent  national  policy. 

A  more  serious  difficulty  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  inter- 
mediate bodies  do  not  correspond  with  one  another.  Each  church 
has  mapped  out  its  local  divisions  without  reference  to  the  others, 
with  the  result  that  even  when  unity  is  achieved  at  the  top  or  at 
the  bottom,  it  is  impossible  to  secure  it  in  the  middle,  or,  if  not 
impossible,  so  difficult  that  the  cost  is  practically  prohibitive. 
Thus  in  New  York  City  to  unite  the  churches  in  support  of  a  city- 
wide  programme  it  is  necessary  to  secure  the  consent  of  two  Pres- 
byterian bodies,  fourteen  Lutheran,  five  Methodist,  and  two  Epis- 
copal, not  to  mention  bodies  like  the  Baptist  whose  organization 
covers  the  city  as  a  whole.  A  similar  difficulty  is  met  in  dealing 
with  larger  areas  like  the  state.  Even  the  Associations  have  done 
nothing  to  remove  this  difficulty.  The  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  is  organized  by  states,  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association  by  fields  which  cross  state  lines. 

For  this  maladjustment  the  obvious  remedy  would  seem  to  be 
the  adoption  of  a  uniform  standard  of  division — say  the  state  or 
some  convenient  group  of  states,  with  such  smaller  sub-divisions 
as  experience  might  suggest — and  the  regrouping  of  the  existing 
ecclesiastical  divisions  so  as  to  make  them  conform  as  nearly  as 
possible  to  this  arrangement.  Such  an  adjustment  would  take  time 
and  patience,  but  it  would  bring  its  reward  in  increased  effective- 
ness, and  there  is  no  reason  why,  through  the  formation  of  state 
federations  or  other  central  committees,  it  should  not  in  time  be 
effected. 

A  possible  agent  through  which  to  bring  about  this  readjust- 
ment is  the  state  federation  of  churches  where  one  exists.  Such 
federations,  as  we  have  seen,  are  found  in  a  number  of  states  and 
are  doing  increasingly  useful  work.  In  Montana  the  Home  Mis- 
sions Council  has  taken  the  initiative.  The  entire  state  has  been 
parcelled  out  between  the  different  denominations  and  a  united 
state-wide  work  is  being  carried  on  in  the  name  of  the  Church  as 
a  whole.     The  experience  gained  in  such  a  common  enterprise  is 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  255 

bound  to  have  a  reflex  influence  on  those  who  take  part  in  it,  and 
where  clumsy  or  ill-adapted  denominational  machinery  stands  in 
the  way  of  efficient  service,  there  is  good  reason  to  hope  that  it 
will  be  discarded. 


2.     The  Movement  for  the  Reunion  of  Denominational  Families — 
Its  Difficulties,  Practical  and  Theoretical 

The  difficulty  of  bringing  about  union  is  enhanced  by  the  fact 
that  we  are  not  dealing  simply  with  half  a  dozen  large  and  com- 
pact organizations,  but  with  a  large  number  of  smaller  bodies.  The 
last  Census  reports  some  two  hundred  denominations  in  the  United 
States,  and  while  a  number  of  these  are  so  small  as  for  our  pur- 
pose to  be  practically  negligible,  there  remain  of  bodies  over  50,000 
no  less  than  forty-six. 

Serious  as  the  situation  is,  however,  there  are  compensating 
features.  Of  the  existing  denominations,  many,  as  we  have  seen, 
owe  their  organization  to  local  or  passing  conditions,  and  only  a 
few  represent  real  differences  of  fundamental  conviction.  It  is 
possible  to  group  the  leading  denominations  of  the  United  States 
into  seven  or  eight  families  which  between  them  include  by  far 
the  larger  number  of  Protestant  Christians,  and  the  problem  of 
Christian  unity,  therefore,  would  seem  to  require  first  the  union  of 
the  separated  members  of  these  families  with  one  another. 

This  movement  is,  in  fact,  going  on  with  varying  degrees  of 
success.  The  Lutherans,  until  recently  the  most  divided  of  all  the 
denominational  groups,  have  given  the  most  encouraging  example  of 
reunion.  Three  of  their  larger  bodies  ^  have  come  together  to  form 
the  United  Lutheran  Church,  and  seventeen  bodies  co-operate  in 
the  work  of  the  National  Lutheran  Council.-     Reunion  is  being 

*The  General  Synod  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  General  Council  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 
in  North  America,  and  the  United  Synod  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 
in  the  South. 

^The  United  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  the  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio,  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of  Iowa  and  Other  States,  the  Lutheran  Synod 
of  Buffalo,  the  Immanuel  Synod,  the  Jehovah  Conference,  the  Augustana 
Synod,  the  Nor\vegian  Lutheran  Church  of  America,  the  Lutheran  Free 
Church,  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  America  (Eielsen's  Synod),  the 
Church  of  the  Lutheran  Brethren,  the  United  Danish  Evangelical  Lutheran 


256  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

actively  discussed  by  the  churches  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Re- 
formed families.  Three  of  the  Presbyterian  bodies  have  already 
come  together^  and  negotiations  are  now  on  foot  between  five 
of  the  remaining.^  Among  the  Methodists  and  Baptists  prog- 
ress is  slower.  The  race  question,  as  we  have  seen,  presents  diffi- 
culties which  have  not  yet  been  overcome.  Yet  the  sentiment  for 
unity  is  present,  and  among  the  Methodists  at  least  a  way  is  likely 
to  be  found  in  the  not  too  distant  future.^ 

Scarcely  less  serious  than  the  obstacles  to  reunion  which  grow 
out  of  the  past  history  of  the  denominations  are  those  which  are 
due  to  the  division  of  sentiment  among  the  present  members.  By 
this  we  do  not  refer  simply  to  the  divergent  views  as  to  the  im- 
portance of  uniting  with  other  churches,  but  to  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  the  degree  of  freedom  which  the  Church  should  allow 
its  own  members.  In  such  a  body  as  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  for  example,  a  wide  difference  of  theological  belief  exists. 
All  shades  of  opinion  from  Catholicism  without  the  Pope  to  the 
most  radical  Protestantism  are  represented.  This  breadth  and 
inclusiveness  is  a  source  of  pride  to  some  of  its  most  distinguished 
bishops.*  Other  leading  churchmen  regard  the  presence  of  Protes- 
tant beliefs  within  the  Church  as  a  serious  disadvantage,  which,  if 
they  could,  they  would  remove.  Far  from  thinking  of  the  Church 
as  a  half-way  house  between  Roman  Catholicism  and  Protestantism, 
they  maintain  that  it  belongs  wholly  on  the  Catholic  side.     To 

Church  of  America,  the  Danish  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  the 
Icelandic  Lutheran  Church  in  North  America,  the  Suomi  Synod,  the  Finnish 
Evangelical  National  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  the  Finnish  Apostolic 
Lutheran  Church  of  America. 

'The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  Welch  Calvinistic  Methodist  Church. 

''  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  the  Presb5^erian  Church  in  the 
U.  S.,  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  U.  S. 
(Dutch)  and  the  Reformed  Church  in  America  (German). 

Since  the  above  was  written,  the  negotiations  between  the  Northern  and 
Southern  Presbyterians  have  been  broken  off  for  the  time  being.  Discourag- 
ing as  this  failure  is,  its  importance  should  not  be  exaggerated.  The  factors 
which  are  working  for  the  reunion  of  denominational  families  are  deep-seated 
and  persistent.  Their  operation  may  for  the  time  being  be  delayed,  but  it 
cannot  be  arrested,  as  the  progress  of  the  negotiations  in  the  Canadian  church 
abundantly  proves. 

^  For  information  as  to  the  present  state  of  the  unity  movement  among  the 
denominations  cf.  "Christian  Unity,"  pp.  45-95. 

*E.g.,  Bishop  Mannmg,  "The  Call  to  Unity,"  pp.  88-91. 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  257 

their  thinking  it  is  one  of  the  three  historic  divisions  of  the  one 
true  Church  from  which  the  bodies  which  they  call  sects  have 
schismatically  separated  themselves.  It  is  obvious  that  when  influ- 
ential leaders  differ  so  fundamentally  it  is  not  easy  to  secure 
effective  action  on  behalf  of  unity. 

What  is  true  of  the  Episcopal  Church  is  true  with  variations  in 
each  of  the  larger  bodies.  The  form  varies;  the  issue  remains  the 
same.  Each  church  has  its  high  and  its  low  churchmen,  its  liberals 
and  its  conservatives.  Each  is  itself  an  epitome  of  the  larger  Church 
and  faces  similar  problems.  The  situation  in  each  case  reacts  upon 
the  larger  problems  of  unity.  The  conser^^atives  fear  any  move- 
ment which  would  seem  to  justify  the  liberals  in  their  position. 
The  liberals  hesitate  to  assent  to  action  which  might  increase  the 
power  of  the  conservatives. 

Illustrations  of  this  divisive  tendency  could  be  given  in  the  case 
of  denominations  where  every  practical  consideration  would  point 
to  unity.  Among  the  reasons  for  the  hesitation  of  the  Southern 
Presbyterian  Church  to  accept  the  proposals  for  union  made  by 
the  Northern  church  is  the  fear  that  its  own  orthodoxy  may  be 
weakened  by  the  infusion  of  a  more  liberal  type  of  theology.  In 
the  case  of  the  Baptists,  the  division  between  North  and  South, 
originally  caused  by  the  race  question  and  still  perpetuated  by  it, 
is  reinforced  by  the  uncompromising  insistence  of  the  Southern 
Baptists  upon  close  communion,  and  their  more  conservative  view 
of  the  Bible. 

Even  Congregationalism  is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  If  it  be 
asked  why  Unitarian  Christians,  originally  members  of  the  Congre- 
gational family,  still  constitute  a  denominational  group  of  their 
own,  the  answer  lies  in  the  field  of  doctrine.  To  unite  with  the 
Unitarians,  the  Congregationalists  must  sacrifice  their  present  close 
relations  with  other  churches  which  hold  strictly  to  the  Trinitarian 
faith.  Even  if  they  were  willing  to  do  this,  the  cause  of  unity  would 
not  be  advanced.  To  seek  union  on  terms  which  would  result  in  a 
new  division  is  a  poor  way  to  promote  the  cause  of  unity.  Let  us 
first  unite  those  who  are  already  closest  together.  Then  we  can  see 
what  can  be  done  for  those  who  are  farther  away.^ 

*One  great  advantage  possessed  by  the  movement  for  unity  in  the  local 
field  is  that  it  makes  possible  discrimination  not  feasible  on  a  nation-wide 
scale.  In  certain  of  the  local  federations  of  New  England  Unitarian  churches 
are  to-day  co-operating  with  churches  of  other  bodies  in  various  forms  of 


258  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

3.    Organic  and  Federal  Unity— Reasons  why  We  Must  Begin  with 

the  Latter — The  Federal  Council,  an  Agency  of 

Nation-wide  Christian  Co-operation 

It  is  against  this  background  that  we  must  approach  the  move- 
ment for  Christian  unity  in  its  larger  aspects.  That  movement,  as 
we  have  seen,  has  two  phases — the  movement  for  organic  unity  and 
the  movement  for  federal  unity.  The  first  seeks  to  substitute  for 
the  present  denominations  some  more  inclusive  organization;  the 
second  takes  the  present  denominations  for  granted  and  attempts 
through  them  to  work  out  the  most  effective  and  practicable  forms 
of  co-operation. 

The  movement  for  organic  union  in  turn  has  two  phases,  of 
which  one  seeks  the  reunion  of  Christendom  as  a  whole,  the  other 
is  content  to  unite  the  different  churches  within  a  definite  geographi- 
cal area  like  the  nation.  The  outstanding  example  of  the  first  is 
the  proposed  World  Conference  on  Faith  and  Order.  Examples  of 
the  second  are  the  movements  for  unity  in  Canada,  Australia,  and 
New  Zealand,  and  the  recent  proposal  for  the  organic  union  of  the 
American  churches  made  by  the  Philadelphia  Conference  of 
1920. 

Important  as  these  movements  are,  all  but  the  last  lie  outside  the 
scope  of  the  present  discussion.  Of  the  first  it  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  the  refusal  of  the  Pope  to  be  represented  in  the  conference 
proves  what  careful  students  of  the  subject  have  long  suspected — 
that  any  movement  for  union  which  tries  to  include  Rome  is  for  the 
present  foredoomed  to  failure.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  either 
to  abandon  the  hope  of  union  altogether,  or  to  confine  the  movement 
to  such  bodies  as  are  sufficiently  close  in  sympathies  and  ideals  to 
make  present  contact  fruitful.  Such  movements,  on  the  other  hand, 
as  are  going  on  in  Canada  and  Australia  would  seem  to  show  that 
among  Protestant  bodies,  at  least,  if  enough  time  and  pains  be 
taken,  organic  union  on  a  national  scale  is  not  impossible. 

With  the  refusal  of  the  Pope  to  take  part  in  the  Conference  on 
Faith  and  Order,  the  position  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  be- 

practical  Christian  activity.  Through  the  contacts  thus  made,  possible  mis- 
understanding is  being  removed  and  progress  made  toward  that  mutual 
spiritual  appreciation  and  sympathy  which  is  the  prerequisite  of  any  effective 
outward  unity  on  a  large  scale. 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  259 

comes  one  of  exceptional  interest.  There  are  many  indications  that 
in  this  quarter  the  approach  of  the  Protestant  churches  will  be  met 
in  a  very  different  spirit.  The  bonds  of  spiritual  sympathy  forged 
in  the  fires  of  the  Great  War  and  its  resulting  sufferings  have  been 
further  strengthened  by  the  visits  of  representative  Greek  prelates.^ 
In  Russia  especially,  the  future  of  the  Greek  Church  will  be  a  sub- 
ject of  special  interest  to  American  Protestants.  It  is  the  one 
stable  institution  which  has  sur\'ivcd  the  cataclysm  of  Bolshevism, 
and  there  is  much  to  be  said  for  the  view  that  the  true  way  to 
advance  the  spiritual  interests  of  Russia  is  not  to  compete  with  the 
work  this  church  is  doing,  but  to  strengthen  it  in  every  possible 
way. 

Yet  to  allow  our  desire  for  closer  relations  with  the  Greek 
Church  to  divert  us  from  the  more  obvious  duty  of  securing  an 
effective  union  of  American  Protestantism  would  be  short-sighted  in 
the  extreme.  To  sacrifice  possible  union  here  in  the  hope  of  secur- 
ing unity  elsewhere  would  be  to  retard  rather  than  to  advance  the 
cause  we  have  at  heart.  The  stronger  and  more  united  the  Ameri- 
can Protestant  Church,  the  more  persuasive  will  be  its  appeal  to 
our  brethren  of  other  churches. 

Especially  interesting  and  significant  for  our  American  unity 
movement  is  the  experience  of  our  sister  churches  in  Canada,  New 
Zealand,  and  Australia,  which  have  already  made  substantial  prog- 
ress toward  organic  union.  In  Canada  a  vigorous  movement  for  the 
union  of  the  Presbyterian,  the  Methodist,  and  the  Congregational 
churches  has  been  in  progress  since  1902.  In  1909  and  1910  the 
basis  of  union  for  the  United  Church  of  Canada  was  approved  by 
a  large  majority  of  all  the  churches,  and  while  the  size  of  the 
minority  which  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  not  yet  ready  for 
union  made  it  seem  wise  not  to  press  the  matter  at  the  time,  it  now 
seems  that  the  patient  effort  of  twenty  years  will  soon  be  crowned 
with  success  and  the  United  Church  of  Canada  be  translated  from 
an  ideal  into  reality.^ 

A  similar  movement  is  on  foot  between  the  Presbyterians,  Con- 
gregationalists,  and  Methodists  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  and 

^E.g.,  Most  Rev.  Meletios  Metaxakis,  (Ecumenical  Patriarch  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  Bishop  Nicholai  of  Ochrida. 

■•  William  E.  Gilroy,  "Church  Union  in  Canada,"  Christian  Century, 
September  8,  15,  1921 ;  The  Right  Rev.  the  Bishop  of  Ontario,  "The  Church 
of  England  in  Canada  and  Reunion,"  Hibbcrt  Juiimal,  July,  1920;  "Christian 
Unity:  Its  Principles  and  Possibilities,"  pp.  352,  353. 


260  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

is  apparently  meeting  with  similar  success.  There  seems  good  rea- 
son, therefore,  to  hope  that  here,  too,  a  strong  national  church  will 
be  formed  by  the  coming  together  of  these  three  bodies.^ 

If  these  movements  encourage  us  to  believe  that  organic  union 
is  possible  between  Protestant  bodies  within  definite  geographical 
areas,  they  warn  us  that  this  will  require  much  time  and  patience. 
This  seems  to  be  the  lesson  taught  by  the  failure  of  the  Philadelphia 
plan  above  referred  to.^  This  plan  was  the  outcome  of  a  Confer- 
ence on  Organic  Union  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1918  at  the  invita- 
tion of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
U.  S.  A.,  which  was  attended  by  representatives  of  nineteen  com- 
munions. It  provides  that  when  six  denominations  shall  have 
certified  their  assent,  a  council  may  be  convened  to  function  for 
what  shall  be  known  as  the  United  Church  of  Christ  in  America. 
The  plan  contemplates  a  federal  council  with  enlarged  powers 
which,  besides  general  duties  of  an  advisory  and  judicial  character, 
shall  have  power  "to  direct  such  consolidation  of  the  missionary 
activities  as  well  as  of  particular  churches  in  over-churched 
areas  as  is  consistent  with  the  law  of  the  land  and  of  the  par- 
ticular denominations  affected."  »  After  two  years  of  discussion  by 
the  committee  appointed  to  prepare  it,  this  plan  has  now  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  constituent  bodies,  but  if  present  indications  are  to  be 
trusted,  there  seems  to  be  slight  chance  of  its  acceptance.  Even  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  which  was  responsible  for  the  initiation  of 
the  conference,  has  thus  far  failed  to  secure  the  assent  of  the  requi- 
site number  of  presbyteries  to  the  proposed  plan. 

One  reason  for  the  failure  of  the  plan  has  already  been  men- 
tioned—the limited  time  which  has  been  given  to  its  preparation. 
Such  a  union,  if  it  is  to  succeed,  must  be  preceded  by  a  long  period 
of  education  and  be  the  expression  of  a  spiritual  sympathy  gained 
through  years  of  practical  co-operation.  A  second  reason  is  the 
fact  that  what  is  proposed  is  simply  a  federal  council  with  enlarged 
powers.  This  being  the  case,  it  has  seemed  to  many  that  it  would 
be  more  sensible  to  strengthen  the  Federal  Council  that  we  now 
have  than  to  create  a  new  one  with  different  duties  and  authority.* 

*Cf.  "Christian  Unity:  Its  Principles  and  Possibilities,"  p.  353. 

'  Op.  cit.,  pp.  156,  355-358. 

^Op  cit.,  p.  358. 

*It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  those  who  advocate  the  Philadelphia  plan  do 
not  apprehend  any  serious  difficulty  on  this  score.  They  point  out  that  the 
two  bodies  have  different  functions  and  authority,  and  that  it   would  be 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  261 

Under  existing  conditions,  therefore,  the  natural  point  of  de- 
parture for  the  movement  for  unity  in  this  country  would  seem  to 
be  the  present  Federal  Council.  We  must  therefore  inquire  what 
qualifications  it  has  to  become  the  central  unifying  agency  of  which 
we  are  in  search. 

The  Federal  Council  is  an  organization  which  came  into  exist- 
ence in  1908  through  the  action  of  twenty-nine  co-operating 
churches,  to  which  in  the  course  of  the  following  year  four  more 
were  added.  It  consists  of  a  body  of  delegates  officially  appointed 
by  their  constituent  bodies  for  the  purposes  set  forth  in  the  con- 
stitution as  follows: 

"I.  To  express  the  fellowship  and  catholic  unity  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church. 

"II.  To  bring  the  Christian  bodies  of  America  into  united  service 
for  Christ  and  the  world. 

"III.  To  encourage  devotional  fellowship  and  mutual  counsel 
concerning  the  spiritual  life  and  religious  activities  of  the  churches. 

"IV.  To  secure  a  larger  combined  influence  for  the  churches  of 
Christ  in  all  matters  affecting  the  moral  and  social  condition  of  the 
people,  so  as  to  promote  the  application  of  the  law  of  Christ  in 
every  relation  of  human  life. 

"V.  To  assist  in  the  organization  of  local  branches  of  the  Federal 
Council  to  promote  its  aims  in  their  communities." 

These  delegates  meet  in  council  every  four  years,  or  more 
often  if  they  shall  so  decide.  In  the  interim  the  authority  of  the 
Council  is  exercised  through  an  Executive  Committee  of  one  hun- 
dred members  meeting  annually,  which  in  turn  is  represented  by  an 
Administrative  Committee  which  meets  monthly.  This  committee 
includes,  besides  the  official  representatives  of  the  denominations, 
certain  individuals  elected  by  the  Executive  Committee  and  certain 
corresponding  members  representing  other  organizations. 

The  work  of  the  Council  is  carried  on  by  permanent  committees 
known  as  commissions,  as  well  as  by  temporary  committees.  The 
most  important  of  the  former  are  the  Commissions  on  Councils  of 
Churches,  on  Evangelism  and  Life  Service,  on  the  Church  and 
Social  Service,  on  International  Justice  and  Goodwill,  on  the  Church 
and  Race  Relations,  and  on  Army  and  Navy  Chaplains.     Other 

entirely  possible  for  those  churches  who  accept  the  Philadelphia  plan  to 
continue  in  the  existing  Federal  Council  their  relation  with  their  sister  churches 
who  are  not  ready  to  move  forward  so  fast. 


262  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

commissions  are  concerned  with  Relations  with  Religious  Bodies  in 
Europe,  with  Temperance,  and  with  Christian  Education.  The 
personnel  of  these  commissions  is  made  up  of  persons  interested  in 
the  matters  with  which  they  deal,  and  so  far  as  possible  representa- 
tive of  the  constituent  denominational  bodies.  The  more  impor- 
tant have  paid  secretaries  who,  together  with  the  general  secretaries, 
form  the  Secretarial  Council. 

The  financial  support  of  the  Council  has  hitherto  been  drawn 
from  three  sources:  the  contributions  of  the  denominations;  gifts 
from  friends  interested  in  the  cause  of  Christian  unity ;  special  funds 
raised  by  the  various  commissions.  During  the  period  of  experiment 
through  which  the  Council  has  been  passing,  it  has  been  forced 
largely  to  rely  upon  individual  support.  This  has  been  recognized 
as  a  weakness,  and  at  its  recent  meeting  in  Boston  the  Council 
decided  to  appeal  to  the  denominations  to  assume  the  full  support 
of  the  work. 

During  the  years  of  its  existence  the  growth  of  the  Council  has 
been  rapid  and  steady.  It  has  assumed  new  duties  as  occasion 
demanded,  and  is  to-day  recognized  as  an  indispensable  organ  of 
the  churches.  It  would  seem  therefore  the  natural  nucleus  for  the 
co-operative  movement  of  the  future. 

So  far  as  its  theoretical  basis  is  concerned,  the  constitution  of 
the  Council  leaves  little  to  be  desired.  Including  to-day  thirty-one 
co-operating  churches,^  organized  on  a  thoroughly  representative 
basis  for  purposes  which  our  entire  study  has  shown  us  to  be  of 
fundamental  importance,  it  is  an  organization  which  expresses  in 
official  form  the  highest  measure  of  co-operation  which  the  churches 

^  The  Northern  Baptist  Convention ;  the  Free  Baptist  General  Confer- 
ence; the  National  Baptist  Convention  (African);  the  American  Christian 
Convention;  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  in  North  America;  the  Churches 
of  God  in  North  America;  the  Congregational  Churches;  the  Disciples  of 
Christ;  the  Evangelical  Association;  the  Evangelical  Synod  of  North 
America;  the  Friends;  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South;  the  Primitive  Methodist  Church;  the  Colored 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America;  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church; 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Zion  Church ;  the  Moravian  Church ;  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. ; 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S. ;  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church ;  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  (through  its  Commissions  on  Christian  Unity 
and  Social  Service);  the  Reformed  Church  in  America;  the  Reformed 
Church  in  the  U.  S.;  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church;  the  Seventh  Day 
Baptist  Churches;  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ;  the  United  Evangelical 
Church;  the  United  Presbyterian  Church;  the  United  Lutheran  Church  (con- 
sultative body). 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  263 

of  America  have  yet  attained.  Objections  to  it  on  the  ground  of 
theory  are  based  either  on  misapprehension  of  the  facts,  or  fear 
that  any  form  of  federal  union  may  prove  so  satisfactory  to  those 
who  take  part  in  it  as  to  make  them  indifferent  to  any  larger 
movement. 

On  the  score  of  achievement,  too,  the  record  of  the  Council  is 
enviable.^  With  scanty  resources  and  little  official  support  it  has 
performed  many  services  of  great  value  to  the  Church.  Through  its 
committees  and  commissions  it  has  done  good  work  in  important 
fields,  notably  in  the  fields  of  social  service,  evangelism,  local  federa- 
tions, and  international  relations.  It  has  served  as  a  means  of 
communication  not  only  between  the  churches  of  this  country  but  of 
Great  Britain  and  Europe  as  well.  It  has  been  the  means  of  raising 
large  sums  for  the  weaker  churches  of  France  and  Belgium  and 
through  its  Commission  on  Oriental  Relations  ^  done  much  to  pro- 
mote better  feeling  between  this  country  and  Japan.  To  meet  the 
war  emergency  it  created  the  General  War-Time  Commission  of 
the  Churches,  with  its  daughter,  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the 
Religious  Outlook.^  Judged  by  its  accomplishments,  hitherto,  the 
Federal  Council  would  seem  to  deserve  the  confidence  of  the 
churches. 

It  is  doubtful  if  so  representative  a  gathering  of  American 
Christians  had  ever  assembled  in  this  country,  or  so  inspiring  a 
programme  been  outlined  as  at  the  quadrennial  meeting  of  the 
Federal  Council  in  Boston  in  December,  1920.*  The  spirit  of  the 
meeting  was  expressed  in  the  closing  message  to  the  churches  from 
which  we  make  the  following  extract: 

'For  a  full  account  of  the  Federal  Council  the  reader  should  consult  the 
substantial  volume  entitled  "The  Churches  Allied  for  Common  Tasks,"  which 
contains  its  last  report  to  the  constituent  bodies.  In  four  different  ways  the 
Council  is  serving  the  churches:  (1)  as  a  means  of  information  on  matters  of 
common  interest,  as  through  the  publication  of  its  Year  Book  and  monthly 
bulletins;  (2)  as  a  co-ordinating  agency  in  the  fields  where  the  churches  are 
already  actively  at  work,  e.g.,  evangelism,  religious  education,  social  service, 
etc.;  (3)  as  a  pioneer  in  new  work  for  which  the  churches  have  as  yet  no 
adequate  official  agencies,  e.g.,  race  relations,  international  relationships; 
(4)  as  an  organ  of  communication  with  other  bodies,  national  and  interna- 
tional, e.g.,  the  Washington  office,  the  Commission  on  Relations  with  Religious 
Bodies  in  Europe,  etc. 

'  Now  merged  with  the  Commission  on  International  Justice  and  Goodwill. 

»Cf.  Chapter  VI,  pp.  111-113. 

*  Cf.  "The  Churches  Allied  for  Common  Tasks,"  edited  by  Samuel  McCrea 
Cavert,  New  York,  1921. 


264  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

"To  all  who  love  and  would  follow  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ: 

"In  the  midst  of  world-wide  unrest  and  uncertainty,  we,  the 
members  of  the  Fourth  Quadrennial  Meeting  of  the  Federal  Council 
of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  face  the  future  with  confidence 
and  hope.  Wherever  we  look,  in  our  own  country  or  in  foreign 
lands,  we  find  tasks  which  challenge  and  opportunities  which  in- 
spire. The  time  calls  the  churches  to  resolute  and  united  ad- 
vance. 

"There  is  a  message  of  faith  and  hope  and  brotherhood  which 
must  be  brought  to  a  despondent  and  disheartened  world. 

"There  are  starving  peoples  to  be  fed.  In  China,  in  the  Near 
East,  in  the  countries  lately  devastated  by  war,  men,  women,  and 
little  children  are  crying  to  us  for  help. 

"In  our  own  country  there  are  wrongs  to  be  righted  and  injus- 
tices to  be  removed  in  order  that  there  may  be  a  more  abundant  life 
for  all. 

"Millions  are  struggling  for  better  economic  and  mdustnal  con- 
ditions which  will  enable  them  to  realize  their  full  personality  as 
sons  of  the  Most  High  God.  These  desires  we  must  help  them  to 
fulfil. 

"There  are  problems  involved  in  the  relation  of  the  races  m 
our  country  and  in  other  lands  which  can  only  be  met  by  the  meth- 
ods of  co-operation  and  conference  which  befit  the  children  of  a 
common  Father. 

"There  is  a  reconciling  word  to  be  spoken  to  the  peoples  with 
whom  we  have  lately  been  at  war  and  with  whom  we  hope  soon  to 
be  associated  in  the  constructive  tasks  of  peace. 

"Perplexing  questions  are  at  issue  between  our  own  country 
and  our  neighbors  in  Mexico  and  in  Japan  that  need  for  their  solu- 
tion the  spirit  of  mutual  understanding  and  sympathy  which  Chris- 
tianity inspires. 

"There  are  aspirations  after  international  justice  and  goodwill 
which  must  be  realized  in  an  association  of  the  nations  for  mutual 
helpfulness  and  world  service. 

•"There  is  a  world-wide  ministry  to  be  rendered  to  men  of  every 
nation  and  every  race — a  unity  of  the  spirit  to  be  achieved  which 
shall  make  possible  all  the  lesser  unities  that  we  seek. 

"To  these  tasks  we  would  consecrate  ourselves  anew,  to  this 
ministry  we  would  invite  men  of  goodwill  everywhere. 

"What  is  this  work  to  which  our  Master  summons  us?  It  is 
to  help  men  everywhere  to  realize  the  kind  of  life  that  befits  free 
personalities  who  accept  the  standards  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  must 
show  men  not  by  word  only,  but  by  deed,  what  Christian  disciple- 
ship  means  for  men  living  in  such  a  world  and  facing  such  condi- 
tions as  confront  us  to-day — what  it  means  for  the  family,  what  it 
means  for  industry,  what  it  means  for  the  relation  of  race  to  race 
and  of  nation  to  nation. 

"But  that  our  witness  may  be  effective,  our  conduct  must  match 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  265 

our  profession,  A  self-centred  church  cannot  rebuke  the  selfishness 
of  business.  A  self-complacent  church  is  helpless  before  the  arro- 
gance of  race.  A  church  which  is  itself  the  scene  of  competition 
and  strife  is  impotent  in  face  of  the  rivalries  of  the  nations.  When 
men  see  Christians  forgetting  their  differences  in  common  service, 
then  and  not  till  then  will  they  believe  in  Christ's  power  to  break 
down  the  barriers  between  classes  and  between  races. 

"We  welcome,  therefore,  the  voice  that  comes  to  us  across  the 
sea  from  our  fellow-Christians  in  Lambeth,  joining  with  us  in  call- 
ing the  churches  to  more  complete  unity.  We  reciprocate  the  spirit 
of  their  most  Christian  utterance.  We  believe  with  them  that  v/e 
are  already  one  in  Christ  and  are  persuaded  that  the  way  to  mani- 
fest the  spiritual  unity  which  we  now  possess,  and  to  make  possible 
its  increase  in  ever  enlarging  measure,  is  for  all  those  who  love  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  to  join  in  discharging  the  common 
duties  whose  obligation  all  alike  recognize. 

"In  this  hour  fraught  with  the  possibilities  of  healing  or  of  dis- 
aster, one  thing  only  can  save  the  nations  and  that  is  a  will  to 
united  service,  born  of  faith  in  the  triumph  of  the  good.  To  this 
faith  we  summon  all  men  in  the  name  of  Him  who  died  that  we 
might  live  and  who  is  able  by  His  spirit  to  bring  out  of  the  failure 
and  disappointment  of  the  present  a  far  more  abundant  and  satis- 
fying life.  In  this  faith  we  would  rededicate  ourselves  to  the  serv- 
ice of  the  living  God,  whose  Kingdom  is  righteousness  and  peace 
and  joy." 

The  detailed  programme  of  the  Council  was  embodied  in  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Methods  of  Co-operation.  This  report 
begins  by  endorsing  the  report  of  a  previous  committee  presented 
at  Cleveland,  in  which  the  legitimate  business  and  duty  of  the 
Federal  Council  were  described  as  follows: 

"To  provide  points  of  contact  between  the  denominations 
through  their  recognized  representatives,  in  order  to  facilitate  un- 
derstanding and  sympathy  between  them; 

"To  study  the  programme  of  co-operative  tasks,  suggesting 
measures  and  methods  by  which  such  tasks  can  be  done  effectively; 
and  undertake  whatever  work  properly  falls  within  its  sphere; 

"To  speak  with  care  and  a  due  sense  of  responsibility  for  the 
churches  on  those  matters  on  which  there  is  a  general  agreement; 

"To  serve  as  a  clearing-house  of  information  about  those  things 
that  are  being  done  by  its  constituent  bodies  and  other  organiza- 
tions affiliated  or  co-operating  with  it; 

"To  be  an  organ  of  publicity  through  which  that  which  is  of 
interest  to  all  may  be  effectively  conveyed  to  each  and  to  the  public ; 

"To  function  in  other  forms  of  co-operative  work  for  which 
there  may  be  no  adequate  provision." 


266  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

After  paying  a  tribute  to  the  work  now  being  done  by  the 
existing  commissions  of  the  Council  in  various  important  fields  and 
emphasizing  the  need  of  still  further  strengthening  and  developing 
this  work,  notably  in  the  fields  of  evangelism  and  Christian  educa- 
tion, the  report  then  goes  on  to  speak  of  "other  concrete  needs  not 
now  provided  for  in  the  Council's  agencies  which  in  our  judgment 
call  for  some  provision,  either  directly  by  the  Federal  Council  or 
indirectly    through    it    by    related    co-operative    agencies.     These 
include:    (1)  the  friendly  and  mutually  assisting  integration  of  the 
denominational  promotional  or  forward  movements;    (2)   the  pro- 
vision of  some  board  or  committee  of  forethought  and  outlook 
which  will  study  and  plan  for  us  all,  with  no  administrative  au- 
thority, but  to  suggest  approaching  needs  and  the  requisite  prepara- 
tions to  meet  them;  (3)  some  adequate  arrangement  for  supplying 
information  and  interpretation  regarding  the  work  and  activity  of 
the  churches;  (4)  an  adequate,  continuous,  and  wisely  directed  en- 
deavor of  all  our  forces  in  behalf  of  a  more  general  acceptance  of 
true  principles  of  stewardship  both  of  money  and  of  life;  (5)  some 
facilities  for  the  general  relationship  of  all  the  Christian  organiza- 
tions and  activities  of  women  which  would  provide  them  with  a 
common  meeting-ground  and  clearing-house  and  make  the  facts  of 
their  work  and  relationships  accessible  to  the  churches;   (6)   some 
central  study  of  the  problem  of  lay  activities  in  the  churches  and 
some  helpful  interrelation  of  the  denominational  efforts  to  deal  with 
this  problem;  (7)  the  promotion  of  'works  of  serving  love,'  of  those 
deeds  of  mercy  and  benevolence  in  which  Christians  unite  and 
which  powerfully  express  their  common  faith." 

Here  surely  is  work  which  needs  to  be  done,  if  not  by  the 
Federal  Council,  then  by  some  other  body  similarly  constituted. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Federal  Council  suffers  from  certain 
weaknesses  which,  if  not  corrected,  will  be  fatal  to  its  success.  It 
has  not  as  yet  had  back  of  it  the  active  support  of  the  constituent 
bodies  in  the  sense  in  which  the  War-Time  Commission  came  to 
have  that  support  in  the  war  tasks  of  the  churches.  They  do  not 
yet  feel  it  theirs  in  the  same  sense  in  which  they  feel  this  to  be 
true  of  their  own  denominational  boards  and  agencies.  Above  all, 
it  has  not  yet  secured  the  whole-hearted  support  of  two  great 
bodies  whose  co-operation  was  essential  to  the  success  of  the  War- 
Time  Commission,  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  and  the  United 
Lutheran  Church. 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  267 

These  weaknesses  were  clearly  recognized  at  the  Boston  meeting 
and  steps  were  taken  to  correct  them.  Certain  changes  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Council's  committees  were  approved  which  would 
make  them  more  fully  representative.  Most  important  of  all,  the 
denominations  which  have  hitherto  confined  their  support  to  the 
payment  of  the  expenses  of  their  delegates  to  the  quadrennial  meet- 
ings were  asked  to  assume  full  financial  support  of  the  Council  by 
a  pro-rata  apportionment  of  its  budget,  and  encouraging  progress 
has  already  been  made  along  this  line. 

A  recent  statement  from  the  treasurer  of  the  Federal  Council 
reports  that  of  the  $250,000  needed  for  next  year's  budget,  $155,000 
have  been  approved  either  conditionally  or  unconditionally  by  the 
co-operating  churches.  In  some  cases  the  appropriation  has  been 
made  from  denominational  funds  already  existing;  in  others  in  the 
form  of  recommendations  to  the  churches.  As  compared  with  the 
situation  which  existed  prior  to  the  Boston  meeting,  in  which  the 
total  of  the  denominational  contributions  to  the  Council  amounted 
to  no  more  than  $16,000,  this  represents  a  substantial  gain. 

In  the  case  of  the  communions  not  now  formally  members  of  the 
Federal  Council,  progress  has  also  been  made.  The  Episcopal 
Church,  already  represented  through  two  of  its  Commissions,  is  in 
unofficial  ways  co-operating  with  the  Council  along  many  lines. 
It  is  greatly  to  be  hoped  that  in  the  spirit  of  the  Lambeth  recom- 
mendation as  to  the  formation  of  councils  in  convenient  geograph- 
ical areas  ^  the  next  General  Convention  will  approve  the  sug- 
gestion already  made  by  many  of  its  members  that  the  church 
assume  full  membership  in  the  Council.  In  the  case  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  there  are  certain  difficulties  to  be  overcome  which  grow 
out  of  the  historic  position  of  that  church  toward  all  forms  of  co- 
operation which  are  not  doctrinally  safeguarded.  But  here,  too, 
there  is  a  growing  spirit  of  co-operation.  Full  conferences  have  been 
held  between  a  committee  of  the  Administrative  Committee  and  a 
committee  of  the  United  Lutheran  Church,  as  a  result  of  which  the 
latter  has  recommended  that  the  church  assume  a  consultative  rela- 
tionship to  the  Council  and  in  addition  share  in  the  work  of  certain 
of  its  commissions, — a  recommendation  which  has  since  been  acted 
upon  favorably.  It  is  greatly  to  be  hoped  that  this  may  be  only  a 
first  step  toward  full  membership. 

A  further  adjustment  is  needed  between  the  Federal  Council 

*  Cf .  p.  188. 


268  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

and  the  central  administrative  agencies  like  the  Home  Missions 
Council,  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference,  and  the  correspondmg 
councils  in  the  field  of  Christian  education,  whose  important  work 
we  have  studied  in  our  last  chapter,  as  well  as  between  the  Federal 
Council  and  the  Christian  Associations  and  other  nation-wide 
voluntary  societies.  The  representatives  of  these  bodies  sit  in  the 
Administrative  Committee  of  the  Council  as  consultative  members, 
and  the  relation  on  both  sides  is  most  cordial.  As  administrative 
agencies,  however,  the  different  bodies  are  entirely  independent.  It 
is  a  fair  question  whether  the  time  will  not  soon  come— if  indeed  it 
has  not  already  come— when  some  closer  relationship  may  prove 
desirable,  some  relationship  which,  while  preserving  the  full  au- 
tonomy of  each  body  within  the  sphere  assigned  to  it,  will  make  it 
clear  to  the  world  that  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  in  its  Protestant 
branch  is  in  the  truest  sense  one.^ 

We  have  an  analogy  in  the  late  war.  For  years  the  Allies  fought 
under  divided  leadership  with  all  its  disadvantages  in  loss  of  time 
and  efficiency.    Only  the  most  urgent  need  induced  them  to  give 

»It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  as  a  result  of 
its  war  experience,  has  established  such  a  central  agency.  Cf.  Catholic  World, 
January  1922,  p.  482.  "It  was  natural  that  this  lesson  should  find  co-ordinated, 
immediate  expression  for  the  time  of  peace,  and  when  the  war  ended,  almost 
of  itself,  the  National  Catholic  War  Council  became  the  National  Cathohc 
Welfare  Council.  As  with  its  predecessor,  unification  and  co-operation  are  its 
watchwords.  In  this  continuation,  by  the  Hierarchy,  of  an  American  Catholic 
organization,  we  have  the  best  proof  that  the  efifort  which  originated  during 
the  days  of  the  war  will  extend  with  power  into  the  future.  We  cannot 
dwell  here  upon  the  splendid  programme  which  the  Welfare  Council  has  set 
for  itself,  but  we  can,  at  least,  call  attention  to  its  general  object;  for  the 
object  of  this  latter  union  is  akin  to  that  of  the  former— to  give  national 
expression  to  the  thought  of  American  Catholics  upon  spiritual  and  moral 
matters  that  affect  the  welfare  of  the  country.  Unification  is  necessary  that 
such  thought  may  have  concrete  and  weighty  value  as  the  expression  of  all 
Catholics;  co-operation  is  necessary  that  it  may  be  clearly  seen  that  this 
Catholic  thought  is  also  truly  American."  On  the  relation  between  the  church 
and  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  cf.  Catholic  World,  January,  1922,  p.  476.  "In 
regard  to  this  matter,  a  statement  of  Bishop  Muldoon,  Chairman  of  the 
Administrative  Committee  of  the  National  Catholic  War  Council,  deserves  to 
be  cited-  'Some  people  have  said  the  Church  has  stepped  in  and  tried  to  rob 
the  Knights  of  Columbus  of  their  glory.  The  Church,  instead  of  absorbing 
them  has  embraced  them  and  held  them  up  to  the  world  as  her  adopted 
children  The  Catholic  Church  by  adopting  the  Knights  of  Columbus  as  her 
agent  has  broadened  the  service  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  She  stands 
behind  them  with  all  her  power,  and  gives  them  the  blessing  of  the  Beloved 


One 


>  I) 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  269 

Foch  the  supreme  authority  he  required  and  to  furnish  him  with  a 
reserve  which  should  represent  neither  France,  nor  England,  nor 
Italy,  nor  the  United  States,  but  the  Allies  as  a  whole.  During  the 
period  of  transition,  the  danger  of  division  was  minimized  by  the 
creation  of  the  liaison  oflScer.  This  was  a  man  who  was  set  apart 
by  one  army  to  serve  as  a  constant  means  of  communication  with 
the  forces  with  which  it  was  co-operating.  Through  him  each  knew 
what  the  other  was  doing  and  the  danger  of  divided  counsels  was 
averted. 

Pending  the  fuller  union  to  which  we  look  forward,  we  need  such 
liaison  officers  in  the  Christian  church,  and  the  Federal  Council 
would  seem  to  be  an  agency  through  which  they  could  render  most 
effective  service.  What  would  it  not  mean  for  the  future  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  if  in  each  of  the  more  important  denominations 
there  should  be  an  officer  as  able  and  representative  as  the  men 
who  are  now  secretaries  of  denominational  boards,  whose  sole  func- 
tion it  was  to  represent  the  Church  in  interdenominational  relations 
and  report  to  his  constituency  the  ways  in  which  they  could  most 
effectively  co-operate  in  common  tasks.  Such  an  officer  would 
ordinarily  be  a  member  of  the  central  council  or  commission  of  his 
own  church  and  so  in  touch  with  all  its  work.  But  he  would  be 
free  from  other  executive  duties  and  so  be  able  to  give  all  the  time 
that  is  necessary  to  consider  the  important  work  that  affects  all 
alike.  The  existence  of  such  a  body  of  men,  serving  with  the  full 
approval  of  the  constituent  bodies,  would  do  more  than  any  other 
single  thing  to  promote  the  union  of  American  Protestantism  and 
bring  a  united  Church  within  the  range  of  practical  politics. 


4.    The  Larger  Aspects  of  the  Unity  Movement — The  Relation  of 
the  Protestant  Churches  to  Other  Bodies,  Religious  and 
Non-religious — Possible  Ways  of  Securing  Inter- 
national Co-operation  between  the  Churches 

There  is  a  word  still  to  be  said  of  the  relation  of  the  Protestant 
churches  to  the  other  national  bodies,  both  in  this  country  and 
across  the  sea,  with  which  their  work  brings  them  into  natural  con- 
tact. These  include  the  various  philanthropic  and  charitable  socie- 
ties that  operate  on  a  nation-wide  scale,  religious  bodies  like  the 
Roman  Catholics  and  the  Jews,  with  which  any  direct  co-operation 


270  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

in  religious  matters  is  for  the  time  being  impossible  and  yet  who 
share  with  the  Protestant  churches  certain  spiritual  and  moral  ideals 
and  purposes,  and  finally,  the  churches  in  other  countries  whose  co- 
operation is  essential  in  the  formation  of  an  international  Christian 
opinion. 

In  the  past  there  has  been  little  direct  contact  between  the  or- 
ganized philanthropies  of  the  country  and  the  churches.  Individual 
Christians  have  been  active  workers  in  every  good  cause.  In  the 
local  field  the  relation  between  the  church  and  the  different  educa- 
tional and  charitable  organizations  has  been  helpful  and  often  inti- 
mate. In  connection  with  a  few  great  causes  such  as  temperance 
and  the  suppression  of  commercialized  vice  the  churches  have  defi- 
nitely supported  organizations  like  the  Anti-Saloon  League  and  the 
Sabbath  Association,  which  have  worked  for  reform  legislation  by 
the  usual  methods  employed  by  political  organizations.  But  in 
general  the  churches  have  left  the  field  of  organized  charity  and 
of  moral  and  social  reform  to  the  many  private  societies  which  make 
it  their  specialty.  In  the  annual  congresses  of  philanthropic  work- 
ers, the  representatives  of  the  churches  are  not  often  found. 

Yet  it  is  a  question  whether  in  the  future  so  wide  a  separation 
is  desirable.  It  is  easy  to  understand  how  the  separation  has  come 
about.  We  have  seen  that  as  the  institution  of  religion  the  Church 
has  a  sphere  of  its  own  which  it  must  guard  with  care.  The  fact 
remains  that  with  the  growth  of  the  social  interest  to  which  we  have 
already  alluded,  the  churches  find  themselves  more  and  more  con- 
cerned with  the  questions  with  which  the  organized  philanthropies 
of  the  country  are  dealing.  Granting  that  there  are  many  things 
which  these  societies  can  properly  do  which  the  churches  cannot  do, 
it  is  still  a  fact  that  the  churches  command  the  moral  influence  with- 
out which  reforms  cannot  be  effectively  carried  through.  It  would 
seem  desirable,  therefore,  that  there  should  be  an  understanding 
between  the  representatives  of  the  churches  and  the  leaders  of  the 
different  reform  and  philanthropic  movements  as  to  what  the 
churches  can  properly  be  asked  to  do  to  promote  the  causes  in  which 
both  alike  are  interested  and  where  this  responsibility  ceases. 

In  the  past  the  churches  have  had  no  agency  through  which 
such  contact  could  naturally  be  brought  about.  To-day  such  an 
agency  exists  in  the  Federal  Council.  Through  its  Commission  om 
Social  Service  the  Council  is  in  constant  communication  with  the 
leaders  of  the  different  social  and  charitable  organizations  of  the 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  271 

country,  and  in  its  bi-weekly  bulletin  provides  a  convenient  source 
of  information  for  those  church  people  who  desire  to  know  what  is 
being  done  in  these  circles  to  promote  the  moral  and  spiritual  issues 
they  have  at  heart. 

In  the  case  of  the  non-Protestant  religious  bodies  the  situation  is 
somewhat  different,  for  here  a  new  and  distinctive  factor  enters  in. 
Beside  the  general  desire  for  social  betterment  our  fellow-citizens 
of  other  religious  faiths  share  with  us  our  interest  in  the  spiritual 
interpretation  of  the  universe.  Can  we  meet  them  on  this  ground 
as  well  as  on  the  more  neutral  territory  of  moral  and  social  reform? 

Once  in  a  while  we  find  Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants  par- 
ticipating in  a  religious  service,  as  in  the  great  religious  meeting 
held  in  the  Madison  Square  Garden  at  the  opening  of  the  war.  But 
such  opportunities  come  seldom,  and  for  the  most  part  we  must 
be  content  to  find  our  contacts  in  such  matters  of  common  concern 
as  temperance,  the  battle  against  commercialized  vice  or  the  cause 
of  industrial  justice.  An  interesting  example  of  such  co-operation 
was  the  report  of  the  Denver  Commission  of  Religious  Forces  on  the 
recent  car  strike  in  that  city,  a  report  in  which  representatives  of  the 
Federal  Council's  Commission  on  Social  Service  and  the  National 
Catholic  Welfare  Council  co-operated  with  the  local  authorities  in 
studying  the  situation  and  making  recommendations. 

In  connection  with  the  observance  of  November  13,  1921,  as 
Labor  Sunday  by  the  Boston  Federation  of  Churches,  Cardinal 
O'Connell,  after  conference  with  representatives  of  the  Federation, 
issued  a  pastoral  letter  to  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Boston,  urging 
them  to  make  a  similar  use  of  the  day. 

A  further  example  of  co-operation  was  the  recent  appeal  for  a 
Federal  investigation  of  the  situation  in  the  bituminous  coal  fields 
issued  jointly  by  the  Commission  on  the  Church  and  Social  Service 
of  the  Federal  Council  and  the  National  Welfare  Council  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church, 

An  even  more  interesting  example  of  co-operation  in  the  field  of 
distinctively  religious  interest  took  place  in  Detroit  when  Roman 
Catholics  and  Protestants  together  approached  the  mayor  with  the 
request  that  all  business  be  suspended  on  Good  Friday  between  one 
and  three  o'clock.  This  action  was  possible  because  Detroit  has  a 
strong  federation  of  churches  which  could  speak  for  Protestantism 
as  a  whole.  If  there  is  ever  to  be  effective  co-operation  between 
Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants  at  any  point,  it  will  be  because 


272  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  Protestant  forces  themselves  are  independently  and  strongly- 
organized. 

With  the  Jews  we  have  the  common  interest  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  a  spiritual  interpretation  of  the  universe.  But  the  natural 
opposition  of  the  Jews  to  proselytizing,  as  they  regard  any  attempt 
to  win  their  members  to  Christianity,  makes  co-operation  in  the 
field  of  religion  difficult.  Yet  when  one  considers  the  situation  in 
a  city  like  New  York,  where  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
young  men  and  women  of  Jewish  antecedents  are  growing  up  with- 
out any  contact  with  the  synagogue,^  it  would  seem  as  if  it  ought 
to  be  possible  to  find  some  form  of  spiritual  ministry  to  these  young 
people  in  which  Christians  and  Jews  alike  could  co-operate. 

An  interesting  example  of  co-operation  between  Protestants, 
Catholics,  and  Jews  occurred  during  the  war  in  connection  with  the 
so-called  Committee  of  Six.  This  was  a  small  committee  including 
Protestants,  Roman  Catholics,  and  Jews  who,  at  Secretary  Baker's 
request,  acted  as  advisers  to  the  War  Department  on  matters  of 
interest  to  the  groups  concerned.^  Among  other  things  they  in- 
spected the  chaplains'  school  at  Louisville  at  the  government's 
expense,  and  made  certain  recommendations  which  were  approved 
by  the  department.  In  addition  Roman  Catholics  and  Jews  have 
co-operated  with  Protestants  in  the  Religious  Education  Associa- 
tion, and  they  are  working  together  cordially  in  the  World  Alli- 
ance for  International  Friendship  through  the  Churches. 

The  third  group  of  relationships  to  be  considered  is  that  of  our 
American  Protestant  churches  to  their  sister  churches  in  other 
countries.  If  we  are  ever  to  deal  effectively  with  the  international 
problems  before  the  Church,  Christians  of  different  countries  must 
work  together,  and  for  this  some  form  of  international  organization 
will  be  necessary.  Either  a  national  council  or  committee  may  be 
formed  in  each  country  to  co-operate  with  similar  committees  in 

*Cf.  Robert  W.  Anthony,  "A  Study  of  the  Jews  in  Greater  New  York," 
published  by  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 

U.  S.  A.  ,       ^1.  •  r 

^The  chairman  of  the  committee  was  Father  John  Burke,  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Special  War  Activities  of  the  National  Catholic  War  Coun- 
cil, and  the  other  members  were  Dr.  Robert  E.  Speer,  Chairman  of  the  General 
War-Time  Commission  of  the  Churches,  Colonel  Harry  Cutler,  Chairman  of 
the  Jewish  Welfare  Board,  Dr.  John  R.  Mott,  Bishop  James  De  Wolf  Perry, 
Jr.,  and  the  writer.  While  holding  responsible  positions  in  their  several 
organizations,  these  gentlemen  served  on  the  Committee  of  Six  in  their 
individual,  not  in  their  official,  capacity. 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  273 

other  countries ;  or  the  point  of  contact  may  be  found  in  denomina- 
tional gatherings  of  international  character,  such  as  the  Lambeth 
Conference,  the  Alliance  of  Reformed  Churches  throughout  the 
World  Holding  the  Presbyterian  System,  the  World  Conference  of 
Methodists,  and  the  like.  Both  methods  have  their  advantages  and 
may  profitably  be  used;  but  of  the  two,  the  former  is  the  more 
promising.  Both  from  the  point  of  view  of  geographical  conveni- 
ence and  from  that  of  the  factors  to  be  united,  the  nation  is  the 
natural  unit.  One  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the  impotence  of  the 
Church  to-day  in  international  affairs  is  that  we  have  as  yet  no 
effective  national  churches  which  can  combine  in  an  international 
organization  of  a  truly  ecumenical  character.^ 

In  the  meantime  American  Christians  will  follow  with  interest 
the  movements  which  are  taking  place  in  the  different  countries  of 
Europe  to  strengthen  and  unify  their  respective  churches.  In  ad- 
dition to  its  bearing  upon  the  reunion  of  Christendom,  the  recent 
Lambeth  Conference  was  significant  because  it  showed  us  the 
Church  of  England  in  the  act  of  defining  its  own  conception  of  its 
duty  as  a  national  church.  No  less  significant  is  the  corresponding 
movement  going  on  among  the  non-conformist  churches  which  has 
resulted  in  the  creation  of  the  Free  Church  Council  of  England 
and  Wales,  the  first  really  representative  organ  which  the  free 
churches  of  England  have  possessed;  nor  should  we  forget  the 
promising  movement  for  union  between  the  Established  and  the 
United  Free  Churches  of  Scotland. 

What  is  going  on  in  Great  Britain  is  taking  place  in  different 
forms  in  other  countries.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  movement 
for  a  national  church  in  India  and  in  China.  In  France  and  Switzer- 
land Federal  Councils  have  already  been  formed  and  similar  action 
is  contemplated  in  other  countries.  With  the  passing  of  the  State 
Church  in  Germany  the  way  is  open  for  the  formation  of  a  free 

*An  interesting  argument  against  the  view  here  expressed  is  made  by  Paul 
Hutchinson,  in  his  suggestive  little  book,  "The  Next  Step,"  New  York,  1922. 
In  this  book  he  argues  for  a  world-wide  Methodist  Church  as  against  inde- 
pendent national  churches.  But  his  argument  overlooks  the  fact  that  nation- 
alism is  not  the  only  divisive  force  to  be  contended  against.  Denomination- 
alism  itself  may  be  such  a  force.  It  is  true  that  to  create  national  churches 
w^thout  uniting  them  in  a  larger  international  church  would  not  realize  our 
ideal  of  Christian  unity.  It  is  no  less  true  that  to  extend  the  existing  rivalr>' 
of  denominations  within  different  countries  to  the  world  as  a  whole  would 
be  equally  to  fail  of  the  mark. 


274  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

German  church.^  In  Czecho-Slovakia  a  remarkable  religious  re- 
vival is  carrying  hundreds  of  thousands  into  the  old  national 
church.  In  the  Scandinavian  churches  Archbishop  Soderblom  is 
organizing  Christian  sentiment  in  favor  of  an  international  organi- 
zation, which  shall  mobilize  the  spiritual  forces  of  the  churches 
against  war. 

It  is  too  soon  to  predict  what  form  such  an  international  organi- 
zation will  take.  We  are  still  in  the  preliminary  stage  of  discussion 
and  experimentation.  From  at  least  three  different  centres  this 
discussion  is  proceeding.  One  centre  is  the  proposed  Conference  on 
Faith  and  Order.  Concerned  as  this  is  with  the  problem  of  organic 
union  and  planning  to  include  all  Christian  bodies  but  the  church 
of  Rome,  it  necessarily  moves  slowly  and  is  content  to  leave  to 
others  the  discussion  of  plans  for  practical  co-operation  on  a  smaller 
scale.  Within  the  latter  field  two  bodies  are  at  work,  the  World 
Alliance  for  International  Friendship  through  the  Churches  and 
the  Federal  Council's  Commission  on  International  Justice  and 
Goodwill.  The  former  is  an  association  of  individual  Christians 
which  aims  by  free  discussion  to  educate  public  opinion  in  favor 
of  world  peace.  It  includes  Roman  Catholics  and  Jews.  The  other 
is  composed  of  official  representatives  of  the  larger  Protestant 
bodies  and  desires  to  co-operate  with  similar  organizations  in  other 
countries  in  establishing  a  responsible  Federal  Council  of  Christians 
which  shall  carry  with  it  the  moral  support  of  the  co-operating 
churches. 

Especially  important  in  its  promise  for  the  future  is  the  inter- 
national student  movement.  The  World  Student  Federation  was 
one  of  the  few  Christian  bodies  which  maintained  its  international 
relationships  unbroken  through  the  war  and  it  is  already  taking 
active  steps  to  unite  the  Christian  students  of  the  world  in  support 
of  a  campaign  for  world  brotherhood  and  peace. 

However  useful  and  necessary  such  informal  contacts  may  be, 
they  will  not  fulfil  their  purpose  unless  they  result  in  some  perma- 
nent international  organization  which  has  back  of  it  the  united 
support  of  the  Christian  forces  of  the  different  countries.  What  is 
true  of  the  unity  movement  within  each  country  is  true  of  its  larger 
international  aspects.  The  sentiment  for  union  developed  through 
informal  conference  must  be  made  effective  for  use  through  the 

*Cf.  Kaftan,  "Zur  Frage  der  Kirche,"  Die  Eiche,  Munich,  October,  1921. 


THE  CHURCHES  GETTING  TOGETHER  275 

concerted  action  of  the  official  representatives  of  the  churches. 
Only  when  a  Federal  Council,  thoroughly  representative  of  the 
Protestant  forces  of  America,  finds  similar  responsible  organiza- 
tions in  other  countries  through  which  it  can  work  with  its  fellow 
Christians  for  world  brotherhood  and  peace,  will  the  Church  be  in  a 
position  to  exert  an  effective  influence  in  international  affairs. 
Only  through  the  experience  gained  by  contacts  of  this  kind  can  we 
learn  what  further  steps  are  feasible  in  the  direction  of  the  organic 
union  of  the  churches.^ 

It  is  against  this  background  that  we  have  to  picture  the  oppor- 
tunity and  responsibility  of  the  American  church.  Nothing  could 
do  more  to  encourage  those  who  are  working  for  Christian  union 
elsewhere  than  to  see  in  a  country  like  America,  where  individual 
liberty  plays  so  large  a  role  and  where  there  is  no  national  estab- 
lishment of  religion,  the  churches  effectively  organized  for  common 
service.  For  this  reason  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  no  desire  to  knit 
more  closely  the  bonds  of  international  denominational  fellowship, 
however  legitimate  and  important  this  desire  may  be,  or  to  express 
Christian  sympathy  and  fellowship  with  congenial  sister  churches 
of  other  lands,  will  divert  the  leaders  of  our  American  churches 
from  their  major  and  most  critically  important  task — that  of  pro- 
viding an  agency  through  which  the  sentiment  for  unity  in  the 
American  churches  may  find  expression  in  a  united  Protestant 
Church. 

*  For  this  reason  importance  attaches  to  the  proposed  Conference  on  Life 
and  Work  which  it  is  hoped  to  bring  together  in  the  course  of  the  next  two  or 
three  years.  This  is  a  conference  which,  unlike  the  Conference  on  Faith  and 
Order,  aims  to  deal  with  present  and  practical  issues.  Leaving  the  divisive 
questions  of  faith  and  order  in  the  background,  it  is  proposed  to  ask  what 
the  churches  as  at  present  organized  can  do  to  make  the  principles  of  Jesua 
Christ  a  factor  in  forming  an  international  public  opinion  so  powerful  that 
it  cannot  be  ignored.  Committees  are  being  formed  in  the  different  countries 
to  further  this  conference.  The  head  of  the  English  committee  is  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury;  of  the  Swedish  committee,  Archbishop  Soderblom;  of 
the  American  committee,  Dr.  Arthur  J.  Brown.  Preliminary  conferences  are 
being  arranged  to  prepare  for  it,  and  in  other  ways  a  campaign  of  education 
is  being  carried  on  so  that  when  the  conference  meets  it  will  have  back  of  it 
the  united  Christian  sentiment  of  each  of  the  countries  represented.  Cf. 
"Christian  Unity,"  p.  368. 


PART  V 

TRAINING   EOR  TO-MORROW 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION 

1.    The  Revival  of  Interest  in  Religious  Education — Its  Connection 

with  the  General  Educational  Movement — Aspects  of 

the  Church's  Educational  Task 

As  we  have  studied  the  situation  which  faces  the  church  in 
America  we  have  everywhere  been  made  aware  of  impending 
changes,  of  new  movements  in  thought  and  in  practice.  We  have 
seen  much  that  is  inspiring  and  that  gives  us  ground  for  hope.  Yet 
we  are  more  than  ever  conscious  of  the  distance  which  separates 
attainment  from  ideal.  No  one  of  all  these  movements  has  yielded 
a  result  commensurate  with  its  promise.  Individuals  have  been 
earnest  and  active.  Groups  have  succeeded  to  a  high  degree  in 
expressing  the  spirit  of  true  Christianity.  But  the  rank  and  file  of 
church  members  have  for  the  most  part  returned  to  the  narrow 
realm  of  interests  from  which  the  war  called  them.  To  make  satis- 
factory progress  with  our  practical  tasks  we  must  capture  the  imagi- 
nation of  these  backward  Christians.  This  is  the  work  of  Christian 
education. 

In  many  different  quarters,  attention  is  being  directed  to  the 
educational  field  and  experiments  are  being  tried  which  affect  all 
phases  of  religious  education.^  Much  time  and  thought  is  being 
given  to  improving  methods  of  religious  instruction  through  the  use 
of  graded  lessons,  more  modern  and  better  lesson  helps,  and  the 
provision  of  effective  teacher-training  classes.  Efforts  are  being 
made  to  supplement  the  inadequacy  of  Sunday  schools  by  pro- 

*  For  a  full  account  of  what  is  beinp  done  in  this  field  compare  the  forth- 
coming report  of  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook  on 
"The  Teaching  Work  of  the  Church."  Much  useful  information  may  also  be 
found  by  consulting  the  files  of  Christian  Education,  the  official  organ  of  the 
Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Education,  and  of  Rcligimis  Education,  the 
organ  of  the  Religious  Education  Association.  Cf.  also  W.  D.  MacKenzie, 
"The  Church  and  Religious  Education,"  Committee  on  the  War  and  the 
Religious  Outlook,  New  York,  1919. 

279 


280  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

viding  week-day  religious  instruction  either  by  means  of  some  form 
of  co-operation  with  the  public  schools  like  the  Gary  plan,  or  by 
vacation  Bible  schools,  or  other  voluntary  supplements  of  the  pres- 
ent educational  facilities.  Some  reformers  would  go  farther  still 
and  substitute  for  the  present  Sunday  school  a  church  school  which 
combines  week-day  with  Sunday  instruction  as  parts  of  a  compre- 
hensive plan,  including  all  that  is  now  being  done  in  the  church 
which  has  educational  significance.^  Plans  are  under  way  for  a 
unified  system  of  religious  education  in  the  local  community, 
through  the  co-operation  of  the  local  churches  with  voluntary 
bodies  such  as  the  Young  Men's  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Associations.  Special  attention  is  given  to  the  facilities  for  ad- 
vanced religious  instruction  provided  by  our  colleges  and  theo- 
logical seminaries,  as  well  as  to  the  need  of  an  adequate  specialized 
training  for  lay  workers,  both  men  and  women.  The  perplexing 
problems  presented  to  the  teacher  of  religion  by  the  period  of 
adolescence  are  receiving  intensive  study. 

This  many-sided  activity  is  the  natural  result  of  our  new  realiza- 
tion of  the  power  of  education  as  a  social  force.  The  example  of 
Germany  has  shown  us  what  can  happen  to  a  whole  nation  because 
of  what  is  taught  in  its  schools.  Americans  are  apt  to  believe  that 
education  has  some  uplifting  and  purifying  power  apart  from  its 
content,  and  that  if  we  establish  enough  schools  the  results  will 
necessarily  be  good.  We  are  learning  our  mistake.  Knowledge  is 
simply  another  name  for  opportunity.  It  is  so  much  added  power, 
good  if  rightly  used,  but  in  the  hands  of  selfish  and  designing  men 
an  added  danger.  Educate  a  rascal  and  you  make  him  more  of  a 
menace  than  when  he  was  ignorant.  We  must  not  only  teach;  we 
must  teach  what  is  true  in  order  to  inspire  to  what  is  right. 

This  insight  conditions  the  newer  ideals  in  education.  We  have 
learned  that  we  must  not  only  impart  information;  we  must  also 
train  character.  So  the  older  catechetical  method  is  being  super- 
seded by  the  newer  experimental  method.  The  modern  teacher 
respects  the  potentialities  of  his  pupil.  He  is  always  looking  for 
the  larger  and  more  mature  self  which  is  presently  to  emerge.  He 
believes  that  this  self  may  be  trusted  to  form  its  own  judgments 

*The  church  school  so  defined  must  be  distinguished  from  the  parochial 
school.  In  the  parochial  school  the  Church  as  such  makes  itself  responsible 
for  the  entire  education  of  its  children  and  young  people,  completely  parallel- 
ing the  work  done  in  the  public  or  private  schools. 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  281 

and  assume  its  own  responsibilities,  and  he  regards  it  as  his  duty 
to  hasten  the  time  when  this  can  safely  be  done. 

We  are  coming  also  to  understand  that  education  is  a  social 
process.  No  human  being  can  be  educated  alone.  In  the  life  of 
the  mind  as  in  every  other  phase  of  our  human  activity  we  are 
members  one  of  another.  We  not  only  experiment;  we  experiment 
together.  When  we  study,  we  exchange  ideas  and  experiences  and 
form  our  convictions  as  groups  as  well  as  individuals.^ 

These  new  insights  are  paralleled  in  the  field  of  religious  educa- 
tion. Bushnell's  conception  of  religious  education  as  nurture  of 
the  growing  personality  has  been  reinterpreted  by  modern  scholars 
who  have  drawn  new  material  for  educational  theory  from  the  study 
of  the  psychology  of  the  religious  experience.^  We  now  understand 
that  the  Christian  teacher  is  not  simply  responsible  for  telling  his 
pupils  what  they  ought  to  believe  about  Christianity.  He  must 
try  with  all  possible  tact  and  patience  to  present  the  Christian 
view  of  life  in  a  way  that  will  command  their  voluntary  assent. 
This  is  a  different  and  a  far  harder  matter. 

The  influence  of  these  ideals  of  education  appears  in  the  organ- 
ization and  curriculum  of  the  Sunday  school.  They  affect  the  meth- 
ods of  recruiting  and  training  teachers,  the  planning  and  construc- 
tion of  the  school  building,  the  underlying  conception  of  the  rela- 
tion of  the  school  to  the  church  as  a  whole.  Instead  of  putting 
every  one  through  a  single  uniform  curriculum,  advocates  of  the 
newer  methods  adapt  their  teaching  to  the  age  of  the  child.  For 
children  of  four  to  five  they  have  kindergarten  classes,  and  after- 
ward group  the  ages  in  grades  that  correspond  to  the  groupings  of 
secular  education.  They  not  only  tell  stories;  they  set  the  children 
thinking  about  what  the  stories  mean.  They  not  only  teach  the 
Bible;  they  try  to  make  their  pupils  relate  what  they  leam  in 
Sunday  school  to  what  they  are  doing  at  home  or  at  school  or  at 
their  play.  They  think  of  the  world  as  a  laboratory  in  which  the 
teaching  of  the  school  is  to  be  tested,  and  try  to  form  in  their  pupils 
habits  of  independent  thought  in  the  field  of  religion. 

It  is,  of  course,  true  that  in  comparison  with  the  total  number 
of  Sunday  schools,  the  schools  in  which  modern  methods  are  being 

*  Cf.  the  interesting  essay  by  Vera  Lachmann,  "As  Youth  Would  Have  It," 
in  The  Survey,  February  4,  1922. 

'  Cf.  especially  Coe,  "A  Social  Theory  of  Rehgious  Education,"  New  York, 
1917. 


282  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

followed  are  still  comparatively  few.  Even  in  these  they  are  carried 
out  to  a  very  unequal  degree.  Nevertheless,  if  we  compare  the 
educational  methods  of  to-day  with  those  of  a  generation  or  even 
of  a  decade  ago,  we  find  real  progress.  The  character  of  the  lesson 
helps  and  of  the  training  courses  for  teachers  is  steadily  improving 
and  the  principle  of  a  graded  instead  of  a  uniform  system  of  instruc- 
tion finds  increasing  acceptance. 

These  improved  methods  appear  not  only  in  the  work  done  by 
individual  specialists,  but  in  the  activities  of  the  official  church 
agencies,  both  denominational  and  interdenominational.  The  unity 
movement  which  we  have  studied  in  other  branches  of  the  Church's 
work  has  affected  the  Sunday  school,^  and  the  contact  of  different 
points  of  view  has  tended,  on  the  whole,  to  a  broader  and  more 
intelligent  approach.  The  old  rivalry  of  competing  agencies  has 
been  steadily  reduced  and  in  most  well-organized  denominations 
there  is  a  single  agency  which  is  responsible  for  preparing  and  uni- 
fying the  material  to  be  taught. 

But  the  Sunday  school  is  only  a  part  of  the  field  to  be  culti- 
vated. We  do  not  stop  learning  when  we  leave  school.  If  we  wish 
to  have  a  really  intelligent  church  membership  we  must  remember 
the  needs  of  older  people.  The  outlook  is  not  so  bright  in  this 
direction.  One  of  our  chief  difiiculties  is  due  to  the  contrast  between 
the  ideal  of  religion  which  inspires  the  teaching  in  our  best  Sunday 
schools  and  the  prevailing  conditions  which  the  pupils  meet  when 
they  enter  the  Church. ^  Our  Protestant  ideal  of  a  faith  grounded 
in  knowledge  requires  us  to  conceive  of  the  Church's  educational 
task  as  a  whole. 

That  task  has  several  aspects,  distinct  yet  intimately  related. 
In  the  first  place,  it  is  the  Church's  duty  to  win  individuals  to 
Christ's  service  by  the  intelligent  presentation  of  His  cause.  In  the 
second  place,  the  members  of  the  Church  must  be  trained  to  under- 
stand the  religion  they  profess  and  to  practise  what  they  have 
learned.  In  the  third  place,  Christianity  must  be  interpreted  to  the 
wider  pubhc  in  order  to  create  an  intelligent  opinion  in  matters 
bearing  on  the  Christian  ideal.    Finally,  constructive  thinkers  must 

'Cf.  p.  240. 

*Any  one  who  has  talked  with  thoughtful  parents  will  realize  how  great 
this  difficulty  is  and  what  a  handicap  to  their  efforts  to  win  their  children 
to  the  Church  is  the  persistence  in  the  local  congregation  of  methods  and 
standards,  both  intellectual  and  moral,  that  fall  below  those  to  which  the 
child  has  become  accustomed  at  home  and  at  school. 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  283 

be  found  and  trained,  not  only  that  the  Church  may  have  teachers 
and  preachers,  but  in  order  tliat  the  process  of  self-criticism  which 
is  essential  to  the  healthful  development  of  every  growing  institu- 
tion may  be  carried  on. 

2.     Winning  Recruits— The  Teacher  as  Evangelist— The  Social 
Gospel  as  Material  for  a  New  Educational  Evangelism 

Evangelism  and  education  were  once  contrasted  as  two  inde- 
pendent and  separate  Christian  activities  and  men  used  to  debate 
which  was  the  more  important.  This  contrast  has  its  roots  in  a 
false  theory  of  education.  Ideas  are  not  something  which  exist  for 
themselves  apart  from  their  appeal  to  the  will;  they  are  the  raw 
material  of  character— the  stuff  out  of  which  decisions  are  made. 

The  consciousness  of  the  intimate  association  between  theory 
and  practice  underlies  all  modern  education.  We  try  to  find  the 
point  of  contact  between  interest  and  personality.  We  encourage 
our  pupils  to  ask  what  things  mean,  and  what  they  are  worth. 
What  the  evangelist  does  when  he  stands  on  the  platform  and  makes 
his  appeal  for  decision  the  teacher  is  now  doing.  He  invites  his 
pupil  to  put  truth  to  the  test  of  action. 

This  is  eminently  true  of  the  religious  teacher.  He  is  trying  to 
make  the  fact  of  God  real  to  his  pupils,  and  the  test  of  his  success 
is  their  response  to  the  presentation  of  the  ideal.  His  invitation  to 
them  is  that  of  Philip  to  Nathanael:  "Come  and  see."  He  invites 
his  students  to  become  familiar  with  the  Bible  not  primarily  because 
it  tells  us  what  God  did  long  ago,  but  because  it  enables  us  to 
understand  what  God  is  doing  now.  He  urges  the  practice  of  prayer 
not  simply  as  a  duty  but  as  a  privilege,  as  something  that  helps  us 
to  become  bigger  and  better  personalities,  to  find  and  express  our 
truest  selves. 

The  present  emphasis  upon  religious  education  is  therefore  not 
to  be  understood  as  a  depreciation  of  the  evangelistic  spirit.  Rather 
is  it  a  plea  for  another  and  a  better  kind  of  evangelism.  The 
trouble  with  much  of  the  older  evangelism  was  that  it  was  not 
evangelistic  enough.  It  appealed  to  a  part  of  man  and  left  another 
part  out.  It  tried  to  grip  the  will  without  winning  the  assent  of 
the  mind.  When  Paul  urged  his  converts  to  bring  every  thought 
into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ,^  he  gave  an  admirable 

UI  Cor.  X,  5. 


284  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

definition  of  religious  education.  It  is  capturing  men's  thought  for 
Christ. 

Judged  by  this  test,  the  earlier  evangelism  had  serious  limita- 
tions. Many  older  evangelists  failed  to  recognize  the  changes  in 
men's  point  of  view  which  had  been  brought  about  by  modem 
science  with  its  emphasis  upon  law  and  its  recognition  of  develop- 
ment. They  phrased  their  message  in  terms  which  for  many  of  our 
college-trained  young  men  and  women  had  lost  their  meaning. 
Thus  moving  in  a  world  of  thought  which  was  unfamiliar  to  their 
hearers  they  diverted  attention  from  the  immediate  duty  of  the  will 
by  raising  difiiculties  for  the  mind. 

These  difiiculties  have  been  in  a  measure  removed  by  the  new 
theology.^  The  new  theology  accepts  the  results  of  modern  science 
at  their  face  value,  but  it  shows  that  they  do  not  alter  the  essential 
issue  which  religion  raises — that  of  a  man's  personal  attitude  toward 
God.  We  know  to-day  that  God's  way  of  revealing  Himself  has 
been  more  gradual  and  many-sided  than  it  was  once  thought  to  be. 
He  comes  to  us  in  a  different  environment  from  that  in  which  He 
met  our  fathers  and  speaks  to  us  in  different  ways.  The  new  the- 
ology interprets  the  old  phrases  of  Bible  and  creed  in  the  light  of 
this  new  environment  and  illustrates  them  by  analogies  taken  from 
present  life.  Thus  it  recalls  the  hearer  to  the  main  matter  with 
which  the  evangelist  is  concerned,  the  immediate  issue  for  the  will. 

But,  after  all,  as  we  have  seen,  this  helps  us  with  a  limited  num- 
ber of  people  only,  people  who  have  learned  to  think  for  themselves 
and  who  realize  the  difference  between  the  intellectual  world  of  our 
fathers  and  the  new  world  of  science  in  which  we  are  living  to-day. 
The  great  majority  have  no  clear-cut  philosophy  of  life.  If  the 
evangelist  fails  to  grip  them  it  is  for  a  different  reason.  His  failure 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  does  not  relate  his  preaching  definitely 
enough  to  the  conditions  in  which  they  are  living.  Uncompromising 
in  his  dealing  with  individual  vices  like  drink  and  impurity,  he  has 
not  been  equally  searching  in  his  probing  of  those  deeper  social 
evils  that  grow  out  of  the  relation  of  men  to  one  another  in  industry 
and  in  politics.  His  call  to  repentance  has  not  reached  the  grasping 
employer  or  the  selfish  labor  leader  or  the  cynical  politician  or  the 
man  who  foments  suspicion  and  hate  among  the  nations.  We  must 
emphasize  these  phases  of  man's  duty  to  reach  the  will  of  the  mod- 

^  Cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  "Modern  Theology  and  the  Preaching  of  the  Gos- 
pel," New  York,  1914. 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  285 

ern  man.  Education  helps  us  to  understand  and  to  deal  with  them 
discriminately. 

We  shall  completely  misunderstand  the  group  of  interests  which 
we  commonly  sum  up  under  the  name  of  the  Social  Gospel  if  we 
think  of  them  as  in  any  sense  a  substitute  for  the  old  Gospel  of 
individual  conversion.  They  are  not  a  substitute,  but  an  exposi- 
tion. They  help  us  to  realize  what  it  means  to  a  modern  man  to 
be  converted.  They  do  for  him  what  John  the  Baptist  did  for  the 
converts  who  had  been  stirred  by  his  preaching  and  came  to  him 
with  the  searching  inquiry,  "What  shall  we  do?"  They  give  a 
clear-cut  test  by  which  the  sincerity  of  a  man's  repentance  can  be 
tested. 

Our  modern  Christianity  needs  such  a  test.  It  is  still  true  in 
some  parts  of  the  mission  field  that  when  a  man  confesses  Christ 
it  costs  him  something.  He  may  risk  his  home,  his  property,  the 
esteem  of  his  friends,  or  even  life  itself;  but  in  our  conventional 
churches  no  such  test  exists.  It  costs  nothing  to  join  the  Church. 
When  Edwards  preached  hellfire  men  trembled.  It  was  so  with 
Finney  and  with  Moody.  When  Billy  Sunday  preaches,  many 
laugh  and  troop  to  shake  his  hand  in  the  spirit  of  delegates  visiting 
the  White  House.  We  need  to  put  the  iron  back  into  religion.  We 
need  some  test  to  determine  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  whether 
a  man  professing  Christianity  means  business  or  not. 

Such  a  test  is  provided  by  the  Social  Gospel.  This  brings  reli- 
gion into  daily  life  and  meets  a  man  in  the  place  where  he  lives  six 
days  in  the  week.  He  is  asked  to  prove  his  faith  by  the  way  he  acts 
toward  other  men,  and  by  the  way  he  uses  his  property.  Such 
decisions  are  of  a  piece  with  the  personal  choices  for  which  the  older 
evangelists  made  their  plea.  They  bring  religion  into  the  realm  of 
reality;  they  associate  confession  with  conduct. 

Education,  then,  is  not  a  substitute  for  evangelism,  but  the 
means  by  which  evangelism  may  be  rendered  effective.  Education 
furnishes  the  language  which  the  evangelist  must  speak,  and  what  is 
more  important  still,  the  ideas.  Education  creates  the  sympathetic 
relationship  between  the  preacher  and  those  to  whom  he  speaks, 
which  is  the  indispensable  condition  of  a  receptive  hearing.^ 

'This  gives  significance  to  such  a  volume  as  "The  Church  and  Industrial 
Reconstruction."  It  is  not  simply  material  for  religious  education;  it  is  a 
vade  mecum  for  the  evangelist.  It  helps  him  to  visualize  the  situation  in 
which  the  men  to  whom  he  preaches  are  living.    It  adds  to  his  catalogue  of 


286  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

We  need  educational  evangelists,  men  who  will  interpret  the 
Gospel  to  modern  men  in  the  situation  in  which  they  now  find  them- 
selves. We  cannot  wait  for  men  to  come  to  us;  we  must  go  after 
them,  and  that  means  that  we  must  develop  a  specialized  evangelism 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  modern  age.  Just  as  the  old  rescue 
missions  established  themselves  where  degradation  was  deepest  and 
addressed  men  and  women  in  language  they  could  understand,  just 
as  the  Salvation  Army  developed  its  particular  organization  for 
the  special  work  it  set  out  to  do,  so  we  must  devise  agencies  which 
can  win  men  to  the  Social  Gospel. 

For  this  we  must  call  upon  men  of  the  same  class  as  those  whom 
we  would  win.  Employers  must  win  employers,  and  labor  leaders 
must  win  labor  leaders;  editors  must  influence  editors,  and  lawyers 
must  influence  lawyers;  university  professors  must  gain  the  alle- 
giance of  university  professors,  and  public  men  that  of  public  men. 
Wherever  there  are  problems  to  be  worked  out  in  the  application 
of  Christianity  to  present  conditions,  we  must  have  men  who  know 
these  conditions  and  who  can  speak  with  the  authority  which 
knowledge  gives.  As  the  work  of  the  Church  expands,  our  responsi- 
bility increases  for  seeing  that  the  opportunities  it  offers  are  made 
known.  Every  profession  must  have  evangelists  bringing  their 
technical  training  and  knowledge  to  bear  upon  the  specialized  tasks 
for  which  they  are  best  fitted. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  call  to  Christian  service  is  to  be 
resolved  into  a  humanitarian  appeal.  It  is  meant  that  our  plea  to 
men  to  surrender  their  lives  to  God  should  grow  out  of  definite 
human  needs  and  carry  with  it  a  correspondingly  definite  objec- 
tive. A  man  who  gives  himself  to  God's  service  should  know  ex- 
actly what  he  is  doing  and  why.  What  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement  did  for  the  past  generation,  we  need  to  do  to-day  for 
the  Church  at  home.  As  the  foreign-missionary  appeal  has  broad- 
ened until  it  is  heard  not  only  by  ministers,  but  by  teachers,  doc- 
tors, nurses,  settlement  workers,  and  practical  men  of  affairs,  so  it 
must  be  in  the  home  field.  Such  an  enlargement  of  our  programme 
will  give  a  new  reality  and  definiteness  to  the  call  to  Christian 
service.     Men  and  women  whom  we   could  not   otherwise   have 

sins.  He  is  to  preach  to  men  not  simply  as  drunkards  and  wastrels,  but  as 
men  who  have  been  squandering  the  most  precious  of  all  the  Father's  gifts— 
their  chance  to  do  their  part  in  making  the  world  a  better  place  for  all  God's 
children  to  live  in. 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  287 

reached  will  be  convinced  that  Christianity  is  in  fact  what  it  pro- 
fesses to  be,  a  religion  for  every  day. 

Above  all  we  must  avoid  the  Pharisaic  note.  It  is  not  for  us  to 
decide  for  others.  The  most  that  we  can  do  is  to  present  the  oppor- 
tunity as  we  see  it,  and  let  it  speak  for  itself.  Each  must  respond 
as  he  will  and  work  out  the  consequences  in  his  own  way. 

3.     The  Church's  Responsibility  for  Educating  Its  Own  Members — 

Special  Importance  of  This  in  Protestantism — What 

Christians  Need  to  Know  about  Christianity 

But  winning  men  is  only  the  first  step.  They  must  be  trained 
after  they  are  won.  Unless  the  body  of  church  members  know  what 
they  believe  and  are  able  to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in 
them,  it  is  hopeless  to  expect  them  to  influence  public  opinion  in 
matters  of  religion. 

The  development  of  a  body  of  intelligent  lay  Christians  has 
always  been  the  ideal  of  Protestantism;  for  Protestantism,  as  we 
have  understood  it,  stands  for  democracy  in  religion.  It  is  based 
upon  a  double  faith,  faith  in  the  capacity  of  the  individual  to  know 
God  for  himself  and  faith  in  the  possibility  of  social  action  on  the 
part  of  those  who  share  similar  religious  convictions.  Such  common 
convictions  may  be  imposed  by  Catholicism  from  without.  In 
Protestantism  they  can  only  be  created  by  a  process  of  education. 

There  is  no  such  consensus  of  conviction  in  the  Protestant 
churches  to-day.  What  is  more  serious,  no  adequate  steps  are 
being  taken  to  secure  it.  There  has  been  no  systematic  instruction 
for  the  average  church  member  in  the  history  of  the  Christian 
religion,  or  in  the  beliefs  and  ethical  ideals  of  the  different  Christian 
denominations,  or  in  the  present  organization  and  activities  of  the 
Christian  Church.  Even  the  necessary  literature  is  lacking  through 
which  such  information  could  be  obtained. 

This  state  of  things  is  no  doubt  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  in 
our  Protestant  churches  the  work  of  religious  education  has  been 
largely  entrusted  to  the  Sunday  school.  But  the  great  majority  of 
our  Sunday  schools  reach  only  the  children  and  these  only  for  a 
single  hour  in  the  week.  Young  men  and  young  women  of  college 
age  are  not  present  there  in  any  large  numbers,  although  they  are 
the  very  people  who  most  need  the  kind  of  teaching  we  have  in 
mind.    Other  methods  must  be  devised  to  reach  them.    The  older 


288  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

men  and  women,  too,  are  facing  complicated  problems — economic, 
social,  and  political.  They  need  to  know  what  the  Church  can  teach 
them  about  ways  of  applying  the  principles  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion to  such  problems.  The  pulpit  must  resume  its  teaching  office, 
too  long  neglected  in  Protestantism;  and  through  books  and  the 
public  press  an  extensive  educational  work  be  undertaken.  Above 
all,  the  home  must  be  restored  to  its  original  function  as  an  agency 
of  religious  education. 

In  saying  this  we  would  be  the  last  to  depreciate  the  importance 
of  the  Sunday  school  or  to  minimize  the  great  service  which  it  has 
rendered  to  the  cause  of  Christian  education.  Of  all  the  educational 
tasks  of  the  Church,  none  is  comparable  in  importance  to  the  train- 
ing of  the  young.  It  is  right  that  the  agency  which  is  charged  with 
this  duty  should  be  given  the  central  place  in  the  Church's  educa- 
tional system.  Necessary  as  it  may  be  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
adults  and  try  to  win  them  to  Christ  by  conversion,  the  great 
evangelistic  opportunity  of  the  Church  lies  with  the  children  and 
young  people  who  are  growing  up  under  Christian  influence.  All 
that  we  would  insist  on  here  is  that  the  child  to  be  taught  is  the 
potential  man  or  woman  and  that  the  whole  process  of  Christian 
education  must  be  shaped  with  this  in  view. 

We  may  learn  a  lesson  here  from  the  Roman  Catholics.  For 
years  they  have  been  giving  special  attention  to  the  religious  educa- 
tion of  laymen.  In  many  a  Roman  Catholic  church  you  will  find  a 
little  rack  at  the  front  door  in  which  is  placed  a  plentiful  supply  of 
pamphlets  setting  forth  in  clear  and  simple  language  the  teaching 
of  the  church  upon  such  matters  as  the  sacraments,  confession,  in- 
dulgences, and  the  like.^  Anyone  who  reads  these  pamphlets  will 
learn  what  the  Roman  Church  teaches  on  the  subjects  which  are 
regarded  as  most  important  in  religion.  The  Protestant  layman 
will  find  no  similar  means  of  information  in  the  average  Protestant 
church,  and  the  lack  of  definite  textbook  instruction  is  seldom 
supplemented  by  any  clear-cut  teaching  from  the  pulpit.  Doctrinal 
preaching  has  fallen  out  of  fashion  and  expository  preaching  of  the 
old-fashioned  kind  which  took  a  book  of  the  Bible  for  its  subject 
and  led  the  hearer  step  by  step  through  its  argument  is  a  forgotten 
art.  Whereas  Protestantism  began  by  aiding  the  layman  to  under- 
stand the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  Christian  religion,  while 

^TKousands  of  these  racks  have  been  sold  by  the  Paulist  Press  of  New 
York  City. 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  289 

the  Roman  Church  deliberately  fostered  his  ignorance,  to-day  all 
this  is  reversed.  It  is  the  Roman  Church  which  provides  instruc- 
tion in  religion  for  its  laymen.  The  Protestant  Church  too  often 
leaves  its  members  to  pick  up  for  themselves  such  knowledge  as 
they  can. 

This  failure  is  the  more  serious  because  there  is  no  other  agency 
which  feels  the  responsibility  for  filling  the  gap.  In  most  European 
countries,  the  colleges  and  universities  include  religion  among  the 
subjects  on  which  they  give  instruction,  but  in  this  country  only  the 
private  and  denominational  institutions  do  so.  As  a  result  of  the 
divorce  of  church  and  state,  the  responsibility  for  religious  education 
has  been  assumed  by  the  Church  and  all  teaching  of  religion  is 
banished  from  the  public  schools.^  The  same  negative  attitude  is 
taken  in  the  normal  schools  and  state  universities,  and  while  many 
denominational  colleges  provide  required  courses  in  the  Bible  and 
in  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  the  older  Christian  universities 
make  such  instruction  entirely  voluntary.  Thus  it  comes  to  pass 
that  a  generation  of  young  men  and  women  is  growing  up  in  the 
country  whose  only  means  of  learning  about  Christianity  is  the 
Sunday  school. 

Yet  this  is  a  very  inadequate  provision  for  so  great  a  need. 
Even  in  the  best  of  our  schools  the  time  given  to  the  study  of  the 
lesson  is  seldom  more  than  half  an  hour,  and  the  instruction  is  given 
by  volunteer  teachers.  There  are  multitudes  of  children  whose 
attendance  even  on  this  brief  course  is  for  a  part  of  the  year,  and  a 
great  number  are  not  in  Sunday  school  at  all.^ 

A  further  difficulty  is  the  impossibility  of  providing  for  a  com- 
prehensive course  of  study  in  the  available  time.    Few  of  the  sub- 

^  Sometimes  the  fear  of  introducing  religious  teaching  into  the  schools  is 
carried  so  far  that  even  the  reading  of  the  Bible  without  comment  is  pro- 
hibited. Elsewhere  reading  is  permitted  and  in  some  cases  a  simple  com- 
mentary is  added.  The  subject  of  the  extent  to  which  it  is  possible  for  the 
public  school  to  make  place  for  moral  and  religious  instruction  without  being 
involved  in  denominational  differences  is  too  large  to  be  entered  upon  here. 

"  Exact  statistics  on  this  subject  are  not  available.  The  statement  quoted 
by  Dr.  John  Haynes  Holmes  on  the  authority  of  the  Interchurch  ("New 
Churches  for  Old,"  p.  14)  that  "three  children  out  of  every  four  in  the  country 
never  receive  any  religious  instruction  of  any  kind"  is  not  supported  by  the 
best  authorities.  The  figures,  to  which  Dr.  Holmes  refers,  were  reached  by 
including  all  children  in  the  country,  including  infants  between  the  ages  of 
one  and  five.  It  is  obvious  that  any  such  basis  of  calculation  is  wholly 
misleading.  Still,  when  every  allowance  has  been  made,  the  situation  is 
serious  enough. 


290  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

jects  with  which  an  intelligent  Christian  ought  to  be  familiar  can 
be  included  in  the  curriculum  of  even  the  best  regulated  Sunday- 
schools.  Portions  only  of  the  Bible  are  taught  in  many  of  our 
Sunday  schools,  and  these  in  detached  bits  not  correlated  with  the 
rest  of  the  book.  Of  historic  and  literary  interpretation  there  is 
far  too  little,  and  for  the  later  history  of  the  Church,  even  in  its 
most  outstanding  features,  there  is  seldom  time.^  Under  these 
conditions,  the  wonder  is  not  that  so  many  Christians  should  be 
ignorant  of  the  history  and  tenets  of  their  own  church,  but  that  in 
spite  of  this  ignorance  it  should  be  possible  for  the  Church  to  main- 
tain a  vigorous  and  useful  life. 

For  consider  what  a  Christian  ought  to  know  if  he  is  to  be  a 
really  intelligent  church  member.  He  should  know  something  about 
the  history  of  his  religion,  the  past  which  lies  back  of  it,  and  the 
relation  which  it  bears  to  other  existing  religions;  he  should  be 
familiar  with  the  beliefs  which  it  presupposes,  the  living  convictions 
as  to  God  and  His  plan  for  man  which  inspire  Christian  activity; 
he  should  certainly  understand  the  present  organization  and  activi- 
ties of  his  church,  the  institutions  through  which  it  functions,  the 
programme  it  is  trying  to  realize  in  the  world.  Just  as  we  should 
consider  an  American  unfit  for  citizenship  who  knew  nothing  of  the 
past  history  of  his  country,  was  ignorant  of  its  present  constitution 
and  laws,  and  was  out  of  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  its  institutions, 
so  we  should  judge  a  Christian  uneducated  who  is  content  to  remain 
in  ignorance  of  the  most  elementary  facts  about  his  religion  and  his 
church. 

The  teacher's  opportunity  begins  here.  He  must  plan  a  com- 
prehensive course  of  study  which  takes  in  the  most  important 
subjects  on  which  the  intelligent  Christian  needs  to  be  informed.^ 
This  course  must  tell  the  story  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  pupils 
must   learn  how  Christianity   began,  what   stages  it  has   passed 

*It  should  be  stated  that  the  history  of  the  Church  is  being  included  in 
some  of  the  recent  graded  lesson  series,  such  as  the  Christian  Nurture  series, 
Scribner's,  and  the  International. 

'  It  is  encouraging  to  know  that  the  attempt  is  being  made  to  provide  such 
a  comprehensive  course  of  study  by  such  publishers  as  Scribner's  Sons  and 
the  University  of  Chicago  Press.  The  new  denominational  courses  like  the 
Christian  Nurture  Series  and  the  new  Beacon  Series  are  also  making  serious 
efforts  in  the  same  direction.  The  same  is  true  of  the  International  Graded 
series,  published  by  the  Congregationalists,  Methodists,  and  Southern  Metho- 
dists, and  used  by  others. 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  291 

through,  and  under  what  forms  it  exists  in  the  world  to-day.  They 
must  study  the  Bible,  of  course,  but  they  must  not  stop  with  the 
Bible.  They  must  be  familiar  with  the  history  that  came  out  of 
the  Bible  and  with  the  effects  which  faith  in  Christ  has  since  pro- 
duced in  the  lives  of  men.  They  must  know  the  Church  as  a  present 
factor  in  human  society;  not  their  own  particular  branch  of  the 
Church  only,  but  the  other  churches  which  together  make  up  the 
one  great  Church.  This  is  a  study  which  cannot  be  finished  in 
Sunday  school.  It  is  something  at  which  we  must  be  working  all 
our  lives.  It  requires  the  co-operation  of  all  the  different  agencies 
at  our  disposal — the  minister  in  his  pulpit,  the  missionary  societies 
and  the  Christian  Associations  with  their  literature,  the  press  which 
keeps  pace  with  the  present  progress  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The 
point  is  that  the  Sunday-school  curriculum  should  be  planned  with 
this  later  study  in  view  and  that  provision  should  be  made  through 
other  agencies  of  the  churches  to  carry  further  what  the  Sunday 
school  begins. 

At  two  points  in  particular  there  is  need  of  more  thorough  in- 
struction. In  the  first  place,  we  need  instruction  in  the  beliefs  which 
Christianity  presupposes.  Our  age  is  characterized  by  an  extraor- 
dinary dislike  of  doctrinal  teaching,  which  is  in  part  a  natural  and 
justifiable  reaction  against  an  earlier  attempt  to  enforce  uniformity 
of  belief  by  external  authority.  This  dislike  has  had  unforeseen  and 
lamentable  results.  In  our  reaction  against  the  creeds  of  the  past  a 
generation  has  been  brought  up  to  believe  that  creeds  can  be  dis- 
pensed with  altogether,  or,  if  this  prove  impossible,  that  each  indi- 
vidual can  improvise  his  own  creed  without  regard  to  what  his  pre- 
decessors have  believed. 

To  break  so  completely  with  our  own  past  would  be  to  lose  one 
of  the  most  precious  of  all  the  gifts  of  the  Christian  religion — the 
fellowship  into  which  it  introduces  us  with  those  who  have  explored 
the  mysteries  of  life  before  us.  Christianity,  we  must  never  allow 
ourselves  to  forget,  does  not  offer  us  simply  the  satisfaction  of  our 
own  individual  needs.  It  brings  us  insights  which  have  been  pro- 
gressively verified  through  the  centuries.  Christian  faith  is  a  com- 
mon faith,  just  as  the  Christian  task  is  a  common  task.  Theology, 
as  the  study  which  interprets  the  historic  beliefs  of  the  Christian 
religion,  must  be  a  part  of  Christian  teaching.  We  must  know  what 
convictions  the  Christian  faith  implies,  to  what  courses  of  action 
it  commits  us,  and  upon  what  grounds  it  is  based.    These  subjects 


292  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

should  be  of  interest  to  every  intelligent  person,  and  they  can  be 
presented  so  as  to  command  that  interest. 

Whoever  has  faced  in  an  intimate  and  personal  way  the  mystery 
of  life  will  be  thankful  to  any  one  who  can  help  him  to  an  assurance 
that  at  the  heart  of  things  there  is  a  Spirit  who  answers  to  his  spirit, 
a  God,  personal,  moral,  Christlike,  to  whom  he  can  look  up  in 
prayer  and  from  whom  he  may  receive  strength  in  his  struggle  for 
the  good.  He  will  welcome  convincing  evidence  that  the  Christian 
recognition  of  Christ  as  Saviour,  Master,  and  Friend  is  valid;  that 
Jesus'  ideal  of  a  new  social  order  in  which  helpfulness  is  the  rule 
and  service  the  test  of  greatness  is  a  practicable  ideal. 

This  evidence  is  in  the  last  analysis  the  history  of  the  Christian 
religion  itself.  The  proof  that  there  is  a  good  God  like  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  fact  that  men  are  living  in  the  faith  that  the  good  God  exists 
and  are  finding  satisfaction  in  so  living.  The  proof  that  Chris- 
tianity is  a  practicable  religion  is  the  fact  that  it  is  actually  being 
practised  and  that  when  it  is  practised  the  expected  results 
follow.^ 

An  intelligent  church  member  should  therefore  be  acquainted 
with  the  agencies  through  which  the  Church's  activities  are  now 
being  carried  on  in  the  world.  Christianity  has  been  the  mother  of 
institutions,  and  these  institutions  are  functioning  to-day,  offering 
the  modern  Christian  opportunities  for  service  which  he  could  not 
have  alone.  Among  these  the  most  important  is  the  Church  itself 
in  all  the  many-sided  activities  which  we  have  been  passing  in 
review. 

It  is,  of  course,  true  that  the  Church  is  not  the  only  agency 
through  which  the  Christian  ideal  is  being  realized  in  society.  Each 
of  the  different  institutions  which  man  has  devised  to  express  and 
further  his  social  relations  has  its  part  to  play  in  the  creation  of  the 
new  social  order — the  family,  the  school,  the  courts,  the  complex 
machinery  of  industry,  commerce  and  finance,  literature  and  the 
arts,  the  state.  Without  their  co-operation  the  Christian  ideal  for 
society  could  not  be  realized.  Protestantism  has  recognized  the 
sacredness  of  all  life  and  permits  men  to  regard  every  calling  as  a 
form  of  ministry.  But  the  fact  remains  that  there  is  no  other  human 
institution  except  the  Church  which  has  for  its  sole  function  the 
promotion  of  man's  higher  spiritual  life.     If  we  wish  to  gain  an 

*  For  a  brief  statement  of  the  evidence  for  this  belief  cf .  W.  Adams  Brovm, 
"Is  Christianity  Practicable?",  New  York,  1916. 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  293 

adequate  conception  of  the  forces  which   are  working  for  social 
betterment,  it  is  essential  that  we  should  understand  the  Church. 

Our  Protestant  teaching  has  hitherto  conspicuously  failed  to 
bring  about  such  an  understanding.  In  our  reaction  against  Roman 
Catholicism  we  have  conceived  a  deep-rooted  suspicion  of  institu- 
tional religion.  This  has  extended  even  to  those  institutions  in 
which  the  Gospel  has  found  social  expression  in  Protestantism. 
Certain  branches  of  the  Church,  notably  the  Church  of  England 
and  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  America,  have  retained  a 
strong  churchly  feeling  which  affects  the  character  of  their  religious 
teaching;  but  this  is  not  true  of  the  great  majority  of  Protestants. 
Religion  has  meant  to  them  primarily  a  relationship  between  the 
individual  soul  and  God.  The  significance  of  Christian  institutions, 
even  their  own,  has  not  been  adequately  apprehended. 

Thus  it  has  come  about  that  in  planning  courses  of  religious 
study  Protestant  teachers  have  not  paid  sufficient  attention  to  what 
God  has  been  doing  through  the  Church  since  the  year  100  a.d. 
The  old  word  of  Chillingworth  about  the  Bible  may  or  may  not  be 
true  of  Protestant  religion,  but  it  has  certainly  been  true  of  Protes- 
tant education.  The  Bible  and  the  Bible  alone  has  been  the  text- 
book of  Protestants.  A  generation  has  grown  up  almost  completely 
ignorant  of  the  history  of  the  Church  since  post-Biblical  times  and 
of  the  forms  in  which  Christianity  finds  organized  expression  in  the 
world  to-day.  For  this  lack  we  are  suffering  to-day  in  many  ways — 
most  of  all  in  that  we  have  developed  among  Protestant  Christians 
so  little  intelligent  consciousness  of  the  Church  as  a  whole.  As  a 
result  we  lack  a  public  opinion  strong  enough  to  support  those  who 
are  trying  to  unify  the  churches.  To  create  this  opinion  we  must 
teach  our  people  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  and  help  them 
to  understand  the  origin  and  present  significance  of  the  main  forms 
of  contemporary  Christianity. 

A  good  point  of  departure  is  the  history  of  missions,  for  missions 
furnish  at  once  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  one  of  the  most  in- 
structive manifestations  of  contemporary  Christianity.  In  foreign 
missions  we  see  the  Christian  Church  making  earnest  with  the  ideal 
of  world-wide  evangelism,  facing  the  divisive  influences  of  race,  of 
class,  and  of  nationality,  and  overcoming  them  in  original  and  sug- 
gestive ways.  Here,  too,  we  learn  how  much  this  effort  is  ham- 
pered by  our  denominational  differences;  in  what  practical  ways 
the  need  of  Christian  unity  makes  itself  felt. 


294  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

In  home  missions  we  find  the  same  difficulties  facing  us  in  per- 
sonal and  embarrassing  ways.  The  study  of  the  literature  of  mod- 
ern home  missions  will  dispel  the  complacency  of  many  a  conven- 
tional Christian  and  make  him  realize,  if  he  has  not  already  done 
so,  that  the  most  difficult  mission  fields  in  the  world  are  not  China 
or  India  or  Japan,  but  American  cities  like  New  York  and  Chicago, 
where  all  the  races  of  the  world  meet  and  where  the  problems  of 
industrial  strife,  race  rivalry,  and  national  ambition  confront  us  in 
their  most  extreme  and  perplexing  forms.  It  is  encouraging  to 
know  that  through  the  agencies  we  have  already  described  so  much 
is  already  being  done  to  inform  modern  American  Christians  of 
the  present  state  of  the  missionary  problem  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  Through  the  agencies  of  missionary  education  the  subject 
of  the  modern  Church  is  finding  its  way  into  the  Sunday-school 
curriculum  and  a  large  and  constantly  increasing  literature  is  com- 
ing into  existence  which  is  indispensable  to  the  understanding  of 
present-day  Christianity. 

No  less  important  than  the  study  of  the  history  of  the  Church  is 
an  understanding  of  the  Church's  existing  organization  and  methods. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  ignorance  of  the  average  Christian 
on  these  points  is  a  good  sign,  for  it  shows  how  loosely  denomina- 
tional ties  sit  upon  him.  Yet  the  fact  remains  that  whether  we 
realize  it  or  not,  the  denominational  differences  of  the  various 
Protestant  churches  are  serious  obstacles  to  unity,  and  that  these 
differences  will  never  be  overcome  until  the  individual  Christian 
takes  the  trouble  to  understand  them. 

One  difficulty  in  the  way  of  interesting  the  average  Christian  in 
the  study  of  Christian  institutions  is  the  denominational  spirit. 
This  spirit  treats  the  part  as  if  it  were  the  whole.  The  Presbyterian 
is  taught  something  about  the  laws  and  creeds  of  Presbyterianism, 
the  Episcopalian  of  Episcopacy,  etc.,  but  such  an  isolated  study  is 
neither  sufficiently  informing  nor  inspiring.  DifTerences  can  only 
be  understood  through  comparison.  If  one  could  study  his  own 
church  not  as  an  isolated  phenomenon,  but  as  an  example  of  a  type 
of  organization  which  has  recurred  from  age  to  age  and  from  coun- 
try to  country,  he  would  begin  to  understand  its  true  significance. 
It  is  especially  important  that  we  should  study  sympathetically  the 
types  that  are  not  congenial  to  us.  Thus  the  liberal  should  under- 
stand the  conservative  and  the  conservative  the  liberal.  The  Epis- 
copalian   should    comprehend    the    genius    of    the    non-liturgical 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  295 

churches,  and  the  Christian  who  does  not  use  the  liturgy  should 
realize  what  the  sacrament  means  to  the  high-church  Episcopalian. 
Only  through  such  sympathetic  study  of  contrasted  types  can  we 
create  intelligent  public  sentiment  and  prepare  the  way  for  the 
larger  unity  to  which  we  look  forward. 

It  is  vital  that  we  should  teach  our  people  the  meaning  of  wor- 
ship. Worship  is  the  very  heart  of  the  Christian  religion.  In  wor- 
ship we  practise  the  presence  of  God  and  realize  not  only  that  He 
is,  but  that  He  is  with  us.  Unless  we  can  learn  to  worship  together, 
all  our  other  approaches  to  Christian  unity  stop  short  of  the  mark. 
Yet  there  is  no  part  of  our  Christian  practice  in  which  there  is  a 
greater  lack  of  common  understanding.  The  two  main  types  of 
approach,  the  liturgical  and  the  non-liturgical,  each  have  their 
diflEiculties  and  limitations,  yet  each  seems  the  expression  of  some 
deep-seated  human  need  for  which  provision  must  be  made  in  the 
Church  of  the  future.  How  important  it  is,  then,  that  Christians 
should  be  trained  to  understand  and  appreciate  both  forms  of  wor- 
ship, and  above  all  that  those  who  lead  in  worship  should  feel  their 
responsibility  for  cultivating  that  mingled  reverence  and  intelligence 
which  is  the  proper  attitude  in  which  to  approach  the  object  of 
Christian  devotion.^ 

Above  all  we  must  familiarize  our  people  with  the  movement  for 
Christian  unity.  We  have  seen  how  vigorous  and  deep-rooted  it  is; 
in  how  many  different  forms  it  manifests  itself.  Yet  comparatively 
few  Christians  have  ever  made  it  the  subject  of  serious  study. 
Few  could  even  name  the  existing  agencies  for  promoting  unity, 
much  less  tell  what  each  is  doing  and  why.  Without  such  intelli- 
gent understanding  on  the  part  of  the  laymen  of  our  churches,  the 
support  that  is  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  unity  movement  will 
not  be  forthcoming.  Not  until  they  study  the  situation  for  them- 
selves and  realize  how  progress  is  hindered  by  imperfect  methods  of 
organization  will  an  interest  be  aroused  which  will  make  the  neces- 
sary changes  possible. 

4.   The  Church's  Responsibility  for  Forming  Public  Opinion  in 
Matters  Bearing  upon  the  Christiari  Ideal 

The  training  of  its  own  members  in  the  principles  of  their  reli- 
gion  does   not   exliaust    the    Church's   educational    responsibility. 

*  Cf.  W.   Adams  Browii,  "Worship,"   Association   Press,   New   York.   1917. 


296  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Besides  the  special  groups  who  are  gathered  in  congregations  and 
the  individuals  who  can  be  won  by  an  evangelistic  appeal,  there  are 
individuals  and  groups  outside  any  ecclesiastical  organization  who 
help  to  form  that  potent  force  we  call  public  opinion.  There  are 
earnest  people  who  for  one  reason  or  another  have  been  alienated 
from  the  Church  and  yet  are  working  unselfishly  for  worthy  causes 
through  other  agencies.  There  are  larger  masses  of  thoughtless  and 
unimaginative  people  ready  to  respond  to  any  passing  impulse  who, 
because  they  have  no  deep  and  settled  conviction,  become  the  easy 
prey  of  propaganda  carried  on  by  selfish  and  narrow  interests.  To 
each  of  these  groups  the  Church  has  a  duty.  The  children  in  our 
Sunday  schools,  the  young  men  and  women  in  our  congregations 
must  study  and  work  and  play  in  the  atmosphere  which  public 
opinion  creates,  and  will  be  helped  or  hindered  in  their  efforts  after 
the  Christian  life  according  to  the  standards  of  the  society  in  which 
they  move.  Christians  who  are  members  of  contemporary  social 
agencies,  industrial,  commercial,  and  political,  must  share  with 
those  who  are  not  Christians  the  responsibility  for  common  action 
in  national  and  international  affairs.  It  is  essential,  therefore,  that 
the  Church  should  do  everything  possible  to  elevate  public  stand- 
ards so  that  the  conduct  of  church  members  as  citizens  and  workers 
may  not  contradict  their  profession  as  religious  believers.  Above 
all  it  is  essential  that  the  Church  should  appeal  to  the  widest  possible 
public  because  in  this  public  are  found  the  men  and  women  who 
might  be  won  to  the  Christian  cause,  but  who  now  hold  aloof  either 
because  of  indifference  or  of  misunderstanding. 

In  the  foreign  field  the  primary  work  of  the  Christian  teacher 
is  with  those  who  have  grown  up  in  non-Christian  surroundings  and 
who  approach  the  deeper  questions  of  life  without  sharing  the  Chris- 
tian presuppositions.  In  preparation  for  such  work  much  time 
must  be  given  to  discovering  points  of  contact  and  in  finding  words 
and,  what  is  even  more  important,  ideas  which  will  convey  the 
Christian  message.^ 

A  similar  situation  meets  us  at  home.    The  world  of  organized 

religion  is  still  an  unknown  country  to  multitudes  of  people.    It  is 

^  An  eminent  Chinese  missionary,  the  late  Dr.  Jones  of  Shantung,  spent 
most  of  his  hfe  in  making  a  dictionary  of  Chinese  philosophical  terms  because 
he  was  persuaded  that  without  the  aid  of  the  exact  phraseology  which  such  a 
dictionary  would  give,  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  Christian  teacher  to 
convey  the  Christian  beliefs  about  God  and  Jesus  Christ  to  educated  Chinese 
in  such  a  way  that  they  would  be  really  understood. 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  297 

not  simply  that  they  are  not  church  members  or  that  they  have 
difficulties  with  this  or  that  doctrine;  they  have  lost  touch  with 
Christianity  altogether.  They  do  not  take  it  into  their  account  as  a 
factor  with  which  as  intelligent  and  conscientious  persons  they 
have  to  reckon. 

Some  who  are  alienated  from  Christianity  owe  their  present 
condition  to  ignorance.  They  have  been  brought  up  in  homes  where 
the  Christian  religion  was  ignored  and  the  Church  treated  as  negligi- 
ble. They  have  found  satisfaction  for  their  higher  impulses  in  the 
pursuit  of  science  or  in  the  service  of  some  one  of  the  many  causes 
in  which  the  spirit  of  altruism  expresses  itself  to-day.  Others  know 
the  Church  only  too  well  and  have  reacted  against  what  they  regard 
as  its  narrowness  and  superstition.  Both  alike  need  what  Chris- 
tianity at  its  best  can  give.  It  is  our  business  to  find  out  where 
these  people  are,  to  gain  a  point  of  contact  with  them,  and  to  create 
the  language  through  which  the  Gospel  message  may  be  conveyed 
to  their  minds. 

So  far  as  this  problem  concerns  those  who  are  already  in  educa- 
tional institutions,  we  shall  come  back  to  it  in  a  later  chapter.^ 
Both  in  connection  with  the  public  schools  and  the  state  universi- 
ties, we  have  already  faced  the  fact  of  a  secularized  education  and 
the  problem  it  presents.  Even  among  those  who  have  been  educated 
in  Christian  colleges  there  are  many  whose  acquaintance  with  the 
Bible  and  with  Christian  truth  is  so  superficial  as  to  be  practically 
negligible,  and  the  problem  how  to  reach  them  and  interest  them  in 
the  Christian  religion  is  one  whose  importance  it  is  difficult  to 
exaggerate. 

We  are  thinking  here,  however,  primarily  of  the  persons  who  are 
not  readily  accessible  through  the  ordinary  educational  channels — 
business  men  associated  in  their  chambers  of  commerce  and  manu- 
facturers' associations;  workers  in  the  various  philanthropic  and 
reform  associations  which  are  concerned  with  the  betterment  of 
human  society ;  members  of  labor  unions  and  of  the  various  organi- 
zations representing  more  radical  opinion,  like  the  Socialists  and 
the  members  of  the  I.  W.  W.  Lawyers  and  doctors  should  not  be 
neglected,  nor  the  journalists  who  play  so  large  a  part  in  moulding 
public  opinion.  These  are  all  factors  to  be  considered  by  those  who 
believe  that  the  Church  has  a  Gospel  for  the  whole  of  society  and 

'  Cf.  Chapter  XV. 


298  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

commands  forces  which  it  is  a  duty  to  mobilize  for  the  welfare  of 
the  race. 

Apart  from  the  general  interest  of  the  Church  in  establishing 
contact  with  every  group  to  which  human  beings  look  for  moral 
and  intellectual  stimulus,  there  is  an  added  reason  why  a  teaching 
Church  should  take  account  of  what  is  being  done  in  these  circles. 
They,  too,  are  becoming  educational  agencies.  Partly  uncon- 
sciously, partly  of  set  purpose,  they  are  forming  the  beliefs  of  men 
for  the  purpose  of  shaping  their  activities.  Sometimes  this  is  done 
in  a  superficial  or  even  dangerous  way  as  propaganda  in  defence 
of  preconceived  opinions,  but  in  many  cases  a  higher  motive  is 
operative  and  a  more  serious  purpose  is  manifest.  Both  in  labor  ^ 
and  in  business  ^  circles  serious  study  is  being  undertaken  on  such 
subjects  as  the  conditions  of  human  welfare,  the  relation  of  capital 
and  labor,  the  nature  and  limits  of  the  responsibility  of  the  state, 
and  an  attitude  of  mind  is  being  developed  which  opens  the  way  to 
the  consideration  of  the  great  themes  of  religion. 

To  this  new  spirit,  wherever  it  may  be  found,  the  Church  must 
appeal.  We  must  show  men  what  the  churches  are  actually  doing 
in  the  field  of  social  service  and  public  morals.  We  must  frankly 
confess  wherein  the  churches  have  failed  and  are  failing.  Above 
all,  we  must  define  our  ideal  and  invite  the  co-operation  of  all  men 
of  goodwill  in  its  realization. 

For  this  we  shall  need  to  create  a  new  literature  of  interpreta- 
tion. It  is  characteristic  of  a  living  religion  like  Christianity  that 
it  must  always  be  inventing  a  new  language  in  which  to  say  over 
again  the  old  truths.  Even  for  Christians  the  old  books  will  not  do. 
We  are  continually  finding  the  need  of  new  ones.  How  much  more 
for  those  who  do  not  understand  our  Christian  language  and  need 
to  begin  from  the  beginning? 

When  we  speak  of  literature  we  are  not  thinking  primarily  of 
books.    These  have  their  place  and  we  need  them.^    We  are  thinking 

^  Cf .  the  Report  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  First  National  Conference  on 
Workers'  Education  in  the  United  States  Held  at  the  New  York  School  for 
Social  Research,  New  York  City,  April  2-3,  1921.  Workers'  Education  Bureau 
of  America,  New  York,  1921. 

'  Cf .  the  recent  report  of  the  New  Jersey  Chamber  of  Commerce  on  the 
relation  between  capital  and  labor,  New  York  Times,  February  5,  1922. 

'Of  our  need  of  more  and  better  Christian  literature  we  have  already 
spoken.  In  our  output  of  reading  matter  there  are  surprising  and  lamentable 
gaps.  Individual  scholars  are  making  their  contributions  in  the  field  where 
their  primary  interest  lies,  but  there  is  no  one  who  is  responsible  for  survey- 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  299 

of  the  literature  of  the  people,  the  daily  press  and  the  periodicals. 
We  need  to  use  this  tool  far  more  than  we  have  yet  done  for  purposes 
of  Christian  education. 

One  agency  whose  possibilities  have  not  as  yet  been  adequately 
developed  is  the  denominational  religious  press.  As  at  present 
conducted  this  reaches  for  the  most  part  only  readers  of  its  own 
communion  and  with  notable  exceptions  has  thus  far  been  too 
largely  concerned  with  local  and  denominational  interests  to  make 
possible  a  comprehensive  treatment  of  the  larger  elements  of  church 
life.  Opportunity  for  a  more  thoroughgoing  discussion  is  furnished 
by  such  interdenominational  journals  as  the  Constructive  Quarterly 
and  the  International  Review  of  Missions,  as  well  as  by  such  week- 
lies as  the  Christian  Work,  the  Christian  Century,  and  others  which 
appeal  to  a  public  outside  the  denomination.  But  there  are  many 
phases  of  the  co-operative  movement  which  still  lack  adecjuate  inter- 
pretation. Is  it  too  much  to  ask  that  the  religious  editors  of  the 
country  should  together  face  their  responsibility  for  Christian  edu- 
cation? They  stand  at  the  strategic  point  where  denominational 
and  interdenominational  interests  meet.  They  have  access  to  a 
public  which  can  be  reached  in  no  other  way.  Has  not  the  time 
come  when  they  should  use  this  contact  to  interpret  the  different 
phases  of  the  co-operative  movement  to  their  constituency  more 
fully  than  has  yet  been  done?^ 

The  religious  press  at  best  reaches  a  limited  public.  For  form- 
ing public  opinion  the  secular  press  is  the  natural  point  of  approach. 
The  columns  of  the  daily  papers  are  open  to  all  religious  matters 
which  have  news  value.  Let  the  Church  do  or  say  something  of 
general  public  interest,  and  the  columns  of  every  daily  in  the  coun- 
try will  be  open  to  it.  When  an  Edinburgh  Conference  is  held,  or  a 
campaign  for  national  prohibition  is  initiated,  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  securing  all  the  space  that  is  needed.  The  case  of  the  Interchurch 
Steel  Report  and  the  recent  campaign  of  the  churches  for  limitation 
of  armaments  is  evidence  of  this.^ 

ing  the  field  as  a  whole  and  determining  where  the  gaps  are  which  need  to  be 
filled.  The  beginnings  of  such  co-operation  have,  to  be  sure,  been  brought 
about  in  the  field  of  missionary  literature,  but  it  needs  to  be  carried  much 
farther  and  applied  in  all  other  departments  of  the  Church's  work. 

'An  effort  to  secure  such  co-operation  has  been  made  by  the  Federal 
Council  through  the  creation  of  the  Editorial  Council  of  the  Religious  Press. 

'  In  the  Christian  Monitor  the  Christian  Scientists  have  given  us  an  exam- 
ple of  what  can  be  done  to  make  the  daily  press  an  organ  of  religious  educa- 


300  TH^  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Most  promising,  because  more  carefully  read,  is  the  periodical 
press.  The  leading  weeklies  and  monthlies  are  open  to  a  sympa- 
thetic treatment  of  religion  and  nothing  would  do  more  to  bring  the 
interests  we  have  at  heart  to  the  attention  of  thoughtful  people 
than  the  preparation  of  a  series  of  articles  which  should  interpret 
in  the  language  of  to-day  the  spirit  of  the  Church  at  its  best. 

One  more  field  for  Christian  education  may  be  mentioned,  and 
that  is  our  legislatures  and  the  politicians  who  control  them.  There 
are  difficult  and  delicate  questions  to  be  considered.  The  well- 
established  principle  of  the  free  state  and  the  free  church  must  not 
be  imperilled.  But  if  political  action  threatens  the  ideals  to  which 
the  Church  is  committed,  the  Church  must  find  some  way  to  protest. 
The  power  of  the  Church  has  been  shown  in  the  field  of  private 
morals  in  connection  with  the  battle  against  drink  and  commercial- 
ized vice.  A  similar  demonstration  may  be  required  in  the  field  of 
public  morals  where  evils  cut  still  deeper  and  do  even  more  harm. 

It  is  not,  however,  in  the  advocacy  of  particular  political  meas- 
ures that  the  most  effective  contribution  of  the  Church  to  political 
education  is  to  be  made.  Rather  is  it  in  the  cultivation  of  that  spirit 
of  faith  and  goodwill  which  is  the  condition  of  any  large  measure 
of  social  progress.  As  Christians  we  are  committed  to  the  ideal  of 
a  world-wide  society  in  which  men  of  different  races  and  nations 
may  find  it  possible  to  live  in  co-operation  and  sympathy.  There 
are  multitudes  of  people  who.believe  in  this  ideal  and  would  be  glad 
to  work  for  it.    But  they  have  been  told  so  often  that  it  is  imprac- 

tion,  and  their  experiment  is  well  worth  tstudying  by  all  who  recognize  the 
increasing  power  of  the  press  in  forming  the  thought  life  of  the  American 
people. 

A  promising  field  which  has  been  far  too  little  cultivated  is  the  county 
press.  A  suggestive  experiment  is  being  carried  on  by  the  New  Jersey  Herald, 
which  conducts  a  department  called  "The  Listener's  Bench,"  in  which  a  well- 
known  minister  brings  a  weekly  religious  message  to  those  who  for  one  reason 
or  another  are  out  of  touch  with  the  Church.  The  purpose  of  the  new  depart- 
ment was  announced  as  follows:  "Frankly,  this  is  to  be  the  religious  depart- 
ment of  the  Herald.  In  its  other  columns  expression  is  given  to  the  political, 
social,  and  commercial  life  of  our  town  and  county.  And  it  is  fitting,  yes, 
necessary,  if  this  or  any  newspaper  is  to  meet  all  the  needs  of  the  individual 
human  being,  that  provision  shall  be  made  for  those  deep,  universal,  abiding 
interests  that  we  call  religious.  And  so  from  week  to  week  the  editor  and  his 
collaborators  will  present  in  this  particular  space  a  few  brief  paragraphs  in  the 
hope  that  they  may  bring  something  of  understanding,  consolation,  courage 
to  men  and  women  who,  in  spite  of  all  burdens  and  obstacles,  want  to  travel 
bravely  and  to  arrive."  The  department  has  now  been  carried  on  for  some 
months  and  the  response  from  people  of  all  sorts  has  been  most  encouraging. 


THE  CHURCH  AS  A  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION  301 

ticable  and  find  in  influential  quarters  so  many  who  repudiate  it 
that  they  are  beginning  to  lose  their  faith  and  to  turn  regretfully 
but  deliberately  to  more  attainable  aims.  They  need  the  assistance 
of  organized  religion — a  renewal  of  faith  through  the  reaffirmation 
of  the  Christian  ideal,  a  reinforcement  of  will  through  fellowship 
with  men  who  are  convinced  that  Christ's  way  is  practicable  and 
who  live  in  this  faith.    This  help  the  Church  should  give. 


CHAPTER  XV 

FINDING   AND    TRAINING   LEADERS 

1.    The  Problem  of  Educational  Leadership  in  Protestantism — 

Fields  in  which  Religious  Leadership  is  Needed — The 

Church's  Responsibility  for  Finding  and  Training 

Constructive  Thinkers  in  the  Field  of  Religion 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have  recognized  the  central  impor- 
tance of  education  for  the  progress  of  the  Church.  We  have  seen 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  churches  not  simply  to  instruct  their  mem- 
bers, present  and  prospective,  in  the  nature  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion, but  to  interpret  the  Christian  ideal  to  individuals  and  social 
groups  out  of  touch  with  organized  Christianity.  We  have  noted 
the  need  of  a  new  educational  evangelism  and  pointed  out  some  of 
the  work  which  this  new  evangelism  might  undertake.  But  where 
are  the  workers  to  come  from  and  how  are  they  to  be  trained? 

It  is  clear  that  they  cannot  come  from  the  ministry  alone.  The 
undertaking  is  far  too  large  for  this.  Nor  can  they  be  supplied  by 
those  who  are  specializing  in  religious  education.  The  whole  work 
of  the  Christian  Church  is  an  educational  work,  and  its  teachers 
must  be  drawn  from  every  walk  in  life.  Fathers  and  mothers, 
employers  and  workers,  teachers  in  the  technical  sense  and  the 
pupils  they  teach — all  are  the  Church's  educational  material,  the 
reserves  from  which  it  must  draw  its  recruits. 

This  enlarged  conception  of  Christian  service,  forced  upon  us  by 
the  pressure  of  the  times,  is  a  return  to  the  original  ideal  of  Protes- 
tantism, which  affirms  the  universal  priesthood  of  believers.  Not 
all  Christians  are  called  to  the  ministry  in  the  technical  sense,  but 
all  alike  share  the  primary  Christian  duties  of  evangelism  and  edu- 
cation. Protestantism  expects  every  convert  to  be  a  missionary, 
and  that  means  that  every  convert  must  be  a  teacher.  The  two 
things  go  together.  The  appeal  to  accept  Christ  and  enlist  in  His 
service  implies  a  knowledge  of  what  Christ  is  and  what  He  requires. 
The  witness  must  be  an  interpreter. 

302 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  303 

What  is  true  of  Christians  in  general  is  pre-eminently  true  of 
those  who  have  gifts  of  leadership.  We  need  men  of  such  gifts  not 
simply  to  do  definite  work,  but  to  show  us  what  more  needs  to  be 
done  and  how.  The  teacher's  function,  as  we  now  see  it,  is  not 
merely  to  impart  what  he  knows,  but  to  encourage  his  pupils  to  join 
him  in  the  search  for  what  still  remains  to  be  known.  Research 
shares  with  instruction  the  time  of  the  modern  teacher,  and  our 
great  universities  are  employing  men  and  women  who  give  their 
time  to  this  and  to  nothing  else. 

It  should  be  the  same  in  religion.  We  are  dealing  with  a  grow- 
ing and  expanding  religious  life.  God's  work  in  the  world  is  not 
finished.  New  light  is  breaking  forth  from  the  world  of  nature  and 
from  the  world  of  human  life.  The  Bible  means  more  to  us  than 
to  our  fathers  and  will  mean  still  more  to  our  children.  The  Church 
is  not  a  fixed  but  a  developing  institution.  It  is  passing  through 
significant  changes  and  is  creating  untried  forms.  We  have  too  few 
leaders  to  interpret  the  significance  of  this  process  of  change.  What 
is  even  more  serious,  we  do  little  to  develop  and  utilize  the  leaders 
we  have. 

With  the  single  exception  of  the  provision  of  an  earnest  and 
competent  ministry,  incomparably  the  most  important  of  the  edu- 
cational tasks  of  the  Church  is  to  give  its  own  children  and  young 
people  an  intelligent  understanding  of  the  Christian  religion.  It  is 
the  most  important  in  bulk,  for  it  affects  by  far  the  largest  number 
of  teachers;  it  is  the  most  important  in  consequences,  for  it  is  the 
foundation  on  which  all  subsequent  work  of  a  specialized  character 
must  be  built.  The  number  of  persons  engaged  in  Sunday-school 
teaching  in  this  country  at  the  present  time  runs  into  the  hundreds 
of  thousands,  and  of  these  all  but  a  negligible  fraction  are  ama- 
teurs. Obviously,  then,  one  of  the  Church's  most  important  duties 
is  to  find  teachers  of  the  proper  character  and  ability  and  train 
them  to  do  their  work  effectively.  We  cannot  any  longer  take  it 
for  granted  that  every  one  is  competent  to  be  a  good  Sunday-school 
teacher.  If  it  takes  time  and  training  to  fit  oneself  to  teach  geog- 
raphy or  mathematics,  it  is  certainly  not  less  necessary  to  make 
careful  preparation  for  teaching  the  incomparably  more  important 
and  difiicult  subject  of  religion.  We  must  find  persons  who  are 
willing  to  give  the  necessary  time  to  preparation  and  we  must  pro- 
vide teachers  competent  to  train  them. 

The  Church's  aid  is  also  needed  by  that  larger  company  whose 


304  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

work  in  religious  education  begins  even  earlier, — the  parents  in 
our  homes.  Without  the  co-operation  of  the  home  the  work  of  the 
best  teacher  is  handicapped;  and  yet  in  how  many  cases  that 
co-operation  is  lacking.  Many  parents  do  not  recognize  the  extent 
of  their  responsibility  for  guiding  their  children's  thoughts  about 
religion,  but  did  they  recognize  this  duty  they  would  lack  the  train- 
ing to  do  so.  We  have  communicants'  classes  for  children  and 
young  people.  Is  it  not  quite  as  important  and  quite  as  feasible 
to  have  classes  for  the  parents  of  these  children?  Why  should  not 
a  parents'  class  be  a  feature  in  every  well-organized  church 
school?^  There  are  difficulties  of  time  and  place,  no  doubt;  yet 
surely  the  love  of  parents  for  children  and  their  sense  of  obligation 
toward  the  growing  life  should  make  it  possible  to  overcome  these 
diflBculties. 

Of  the  need  of  lay  leadership  in  the  effort  to  apply  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity  to  our  contemporary  political  and  industrial 
life  we  have  spoken  elsewhere.  It  is  important,  however,  that  we 
should  remind  ourselves  how  much  preparation  is  required  for  such 
leadership.  The  question  naturally  arises  whether  in  view  of  the 
magnitude  of  the  demands  made  upon  the  churches  in  this  most 
difficult  field  it  will  be  possible  to  secure  adequate  service  from 
volunteers.  In  religious  education  the  impossibility  of  depending 
upon  volunteer  help  is  generally  recognized.  Men  and  women  are 
fitting  themselves  to  teach  religion  in  our  colleges  and  preparatory 
schools  and  to  take  charge  of  the  educational  activities  of  indi- 
vidual congregations  as  Sunday-school  superintendents  and  direc- 
tors of  religious  education.  Should  not  the  same  be  true  in  the 
field  of  applied  Christianity?  Why  should  not  the  churches  set 
apart  men  and  women  to  give  their  lives  to  the  study  of  the  indus- 
trial question,  or  the  race  question,  or  the  international  question 
from  the  Christian  point  of  view?  Something  has  already  been 
done  in  our  social  service  commissions  and  similar  agencies,  both 
denominational  and  interdenominational,  but  when  we  consider  the 
greatness  of  the  opportunity  we  cannot  but  feel  that  we  are  only 
at  the  beginning  of  what  may  become  a  development  of  great 
significance. 

*  There  is  such  a  parents'  class  in  the  Union  School  of  Religion,  the  practice 
school  conducted  by  the  Department  of  Religious  Education  of  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary  in  New  York  City. 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  305 

The  most  obvious  and  best  recognized  field  of  Christian  leader- 
ship is,  of  course,  the  Church  itself.  We  have  seen  what  a  great 
enterprise  the  Christian  Church  has  become,  what  vast  resources 
it  commands,  what  a  varied  work  it  carries  on  at  home  and  abroad. 
Considered  simply  as  a  business  enterprise  the  missionary  work  of 
the  American  Protestant  churches  is  immense.  When  to  the  rais- 
ing and  expending  of  many  millions  of  dollars  annually  we  add  the 
cost  of  administering  the  home  churches,  the  responsibility  of  our 
church  leaders  is  apparent. 

But  the  business  side  of  the  churches'  work  is  the  least  part  of 
their  responsibility.  They  shape  policies  which  affect  the  spiritual 
life  of  millions  of  men.  They  conduct  a  great  educational  enter- 
prise containing  in  its  classes  twenty  million  persons.  They  are 
the  ambassadors  of  an  international  brotherhood  which  has  no 
boundaries  of  race  or  nation.  Above  all,  they  maintain  an  insti- 
tution of  worship  which  lifts  men's  hearts  to  the  God  of  all  the 
earth  and  reveals  their  spiritual  kinship  with  one  another.  The 
men  who  control  the  policies  of  such  an  institution  have  a  respon- 
sibility second  to  none,  and  the  problem  of  their  selection  and 
training  is  of  pressing  importance. 

This  problem  meets  us  in  its  most  acute  form  in  connection 
with  the  local  congregation.  All  the  different  interests  of  the  Church 
at  large  impinge  at  last  upon  the  group  of  men  and  women  who 
find  the  centre  of  their  spiritual  life  in  the  local  church.  What  the 
great  Church  is  doing  is  known  to  them  only  through  their  own 
particular  section  of  the  Church,  and  the  man  who  is  responsible 
for  bringing  such  knowledge  to  them  is  the  local  minister.  He  is 
at  once  preacher,  pastor,  leader  of  worship,  administrator,  mission- 
ary, social-service  worker,  and  teacher.  Or,  if  he  be  not  all  of 
these  himself,  he  is  responsible  for  seeing  that  each  of  these  in- 
terests is  properly  cared  for  by  persons  duly  chosen  and  trained 
for  the  purpose.  The  tone  of  the  Church  at  large  will  not  conspicu- 
ously rise  above  the  tone  of  the  individual  minister.  The  recruit- 
ing of  a  competent  ministry  and  the  provision  of  proper  facilities 
for  its  training  becomes  therefore  a  paramount  interest  for  the 
Church  as  a  whole. 

What  is  true  of  the  local  minister  is  true  a  fortiori  of  the  greater 
Church  to  which  his  congregation  belongs.  Its  multiform  activities 
require  the  services  of  a  numerous  staff.    The  boards  of  home  and 


306  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

foreign  missions  need  competent  executives;  so  also  do  the  educa- 
tional agencies  of  the  denominations.  Apart  from  the  administra- 
tive work  done  by  volunteers  which,  in  many  cases,  is  very  heavy, 
the  regular  business  of  each  denomination  occupies  the  full  time  of 
a  greater  or  lesser  number  of  persons,  while  besides  the  administra- 
tive work  of  the  different  denominations  there  is  the  wide  field  of 
interdenominational  activity  as  it  is  carried  on  by  the  Federal 
Council,  the  Home  Missions  Council,  the  Foreign  Missions  Con- 
ference, the  Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Education,  the  Inter- 
national Sunday  School  Council  of  Religious  Education,  and  the 
different  state  or  local  federations.  Most  of  these  require  the  un- 
divided service  of  able  men  and  women. 

Thus  far  the  Church  has  made  meagre  provision  for  the  prepa- 
ration of  those  who  are  to  hold  these  responsible  positions.  They 
have  been  drawn  mostly  from  the  active  pastorate.  Latterly,  how- 
ever, the  number  of  persons  who  have  chosen  the  administrative 
service  of  the  Church  as  a  life  work  has  increased,  and  the  need  of 
specialized  training  for  them  has  been  accentuated.  Such  training 
is  necessary  not  simply  to  fit  them  for  the  technical  work  they 
have  to  do  (that  can  be  learned  by  practice  as  it  is  learned  in 
other  businesses  and  professions)  but  to  give  them  the  breadth  of 
outlook  and  background  of  knowledge  which  will  enable  them  to 
act  wisely  in  the  important  matters  which  are  constantly  coming 
up  for  decision. 

This  brings  us  to  the  last  of  the  Church's  educational  responsi- 
bilities, that  of  developing  constructive  thinkers  in  the  field  of 
religion.  Such  constructive  thinkers  are  needed  to  guide  the  Church 
in  its  planning  for  the  future,  and  this  all  along  the  line.  We  need 
them  to  instruct  and  inspire  the  younger  generation  who  have  been 
taught  in  the  university  to  prove  all  things  and  need  to  be  assured 
that  a  man  can  be  a  good  Christian  and  yet  keep  an  honest  mind. 
They  are  required  to  assist  the  older  men  and  women  in  the  wise 
use  of  the  resources  which  they  control  and  to  win  to  the  Church 
the  individuals  and  the  groups  now  alienated  through  misunder- 
standing or  ignorance.  Above  all  they  are  necessary  to  furnish  our 
executives  with  the  technical  knowledge  through  which  alone  a 
missionary  programme  for  the  Church  as  a  whole  can  be  wisely 
developed. 

Where  are  these  thinkers  to  be  found?    Clearly  wherever  men 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  307 

and  women  exist  with  capacities  which  fit  them  for  this  unique 
service. 

There  are  four  sources  of  supply  to  which  we  would  naturally 
turn  for  constructive  thought  in  the  realm  of  religion:  our  theologi- 
cal seminaries;  our  colleges  and  universities;  our  ministry;  the 
leaders  of  our  missionary  and  ecclesiastical  organizations.  In  each 
case  we  find  that  the  energies  which  should  be  given  to  work  of  this 
kind  are  largely  diverted  to  what  seem  to  be  more  pressing  tasks. 
Our  theological  teachers  recognize  their  responsibility  for  research 
in  the  field  of  religion,  but  hitherto  their  main  energies  have  been 
devoted  to  the  history  and  criticism  of  the  past.  They  have  not 
as  yet  to  any  considerable  extent  made  the  living  Church  the  sub- 
ject of  their  critical  inquiry.  Our  college  and  university  professors 
are  active  in  research  along  many  different  lines,  but  thus  far  they 
have  failed  to  give  adequate  attention  to  the  claims  of  religion  as 
a  subject  of  scientific  investigation.  Our  ministers  in  America 
(unlike  their  colleagues  in  Scotland  where  the  scholarly  tradition 
is  bred  in  the  bone)  find  themselves  almost  immediately  immersed 
in  a  multitude  of  details  from  which  it  is  all  but  impossible  to  extri- 
cate themselves.  The  same  pressure  of  detail  hampers  those  who 
ought,  of  all  men,  to  be  most  free  to  devote  themselves  to  con- 
structive religious  thinking — our  missionary  and  ecclesiastical 
leaders. 

Evidently  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  Church's 
educational  work  is  to  direct  the  attention  of  those  in  responsible 
ofl&cial  positions  to  the  need  of  finding  men  and  women  who  have 
the  capacity  for  constructive  thought  and  of  setting  them  free  for 
this  indispensable  service.  Without  such  thoughtful  leadership, 
effective  action  on  a  large  scale  is  impossible.  In  the  university, 
teaching  and  research  go  hand  in  hand;  it  should  be  the  same  in 
the  Church. 

In  the  light  of  these  general  considerations  we  must  consider 
the  Church's  responsibility  for  the  training  of  its  leaders.  This  is 
not  a  responsibility  which  can  be  assumed  by  the  theological  semi- 
nary alone  or  by  the  institutions  which  fit  men  and  women  for 
specialized  forms  of  church  work.  It  rests  also  upon  our  colleges 
and  universities.  Above  all,  it  is  the  responsibility  of  the  living 
and  working  Church  which,  in  its  present  activities,  is  the  greatest 
of  all  educational  institutions,  the  laboratory  in  which  all  the 
theories  of  the  schools  must  be  tested. 


308  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

2.    Agencies   Available   for    the    Higher    Religious   Education    of 
Laymen — The  Responsibility  of  Our  Colleges  and  Univer- 
sities for  the  Teaching  of  Religion.^ 

Among  the  agencies  to  which  we  must  look  for  help  in  our 
effort  to  secure  adequate  religious  leadership  our  colleges  and 
universities  hold  a  foremost  place.  Our  ability  to  do  what  needs 
to  be  done  will  depend  largely  upon  the  attitude  of  the  men  who 
are  responsible  for  shaping  the  policies  of  these  institutions.  It  is 
important,  therefore,  for  us  to  understand  just  what  this  attitude 
is  and  what  chance  there  is  of  securing  their  effective  and  intelli- 
gent co-operation. 

What,  then,  have  we  a  right  to  ask  of  our  colleges  and  univer- 
sities in  the  way  of  religious  education?  For  one  thing  we  have  a 
right  to  ask  that  they  give  to  every  student  who  comes  under  their 
influence  some  intelligent  conception  of  the  place  of  religion  in 
human  life,  the  part  which  it  has  played  in  history  and  the  insti- 
tutions through  which  it  functions  to-day.  We  have  a  right  to 
ask  further  that  they  give  their  students  such  an  acquaintance 
with  the  contents  of  the  Bible  as  will  make  them  at  home  in  its 
great  passages  and  furnish  those  who  care  to  carry  the  study 
farther  the  foundation  of  knowledge  which  will  fit  them  to  become 
teachers  of  the  Bible  to  others.  We  have  a  right  to  ask  that  at 
some  appropriate  place  in  the  course  each  student  find  a  sympa- 
thetic treatment  of  the  intellectual  difficulties  in  the  way  of  faith 
and  the  attitude  of  the  great  thinkers  of  the  past  who  have  found 
a  reasonable  faith  possible.  Finally,  we  have  a  right  to  ask  that 
they  awaken  in  a  certain  proportion  of  the  abler  students  such  an 
interest  in  the  larger  aspects  of  religion  as  will  fit  them  for  leader- 
ship in  the  Church  in  one  or  other  of  the  lines  we  have  just 
indicated. 

In  some  of  our  colleges  and  universities  these  conditions  are  to 

a  large  degree  realized.    In  others  little  or  nothing  is  done  to  secure 

them.     In  far  too  few  has  the  problem  been  seriously  faced  and 

the  full  responsibility  of  the  institution  accepted.    To  understand 

the  situation  in  its  varying  aspects  a  brief  historical  retrospect  is 

necessary. 

^  Cf .  Foster,  "Religion  in  American  Universities,"  Christian  Education, 
June,  1921 ;  "Schools  of  Religion  at  State  Universities,"  Christian  Education, 
April,  1922;  Thompson,  "Christian  Education  in  Colleges  and  Universities," 
Christian  Work,  February  18,  1922. 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  309 

In  the  earlier  educational  history  of  this  country  the  teaching 
of  religion  played  a  prominent  part.  The  original  impulse  to  the 
establishment  of  the  older  colleges  was  the  desire  to  furnish  facili- 
ties for  the  education  of  a  competent  ministry.  Theology  was 
taught  as  a  college  subject  and  all  students  were  expected  to 
study  it,  not  only  those  who  looked  forward  to  the  ministry  as  a 
profession.  Later  the  seminary  was  separated  from  the  college 
and  became  a  professional  school  either  entirely  independent  of 
the  college,  with  a  governing  board  of  its  own,  or  in  affiliation  with 
the  institution  of  which  it  had  originally  been  an  integral  part. 

This  change  was  due  in  part  to  the  natural  tendency  toward 
specialization  which  was  felt  in  all  the  professions;  in  part  to  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  college  graduates  who  looked  forward 
to  business  as  their  life  work.  It  was  accompanied  by  a  change 
in  men's  attitude  toward  formal  creeds  and  by  the  growth  of  a 
more  liberal,  not  to  say  lax,  view  of  religion.  With  the  weakening 
of  the  older  conception  of  the  Church's  authority,  the  instruction 
in  our  colleges  and  universities  tended  more  and  more  to  confine 
itself  to  science  and  the  humanities,  leaving  formal  instruction  in 
religion  to  be  provided  by  the  churches  through  voluntary  agencies 
or  in  institutions  definitely  under  church  control.  A  system  of 
secularized  higher  education  continued  the  secular  education  of  the 
public  schools.  The  establishment  of  the  state  universities  was  an 
important  step  in  this  process,  but  it  was  only  one  element  in  a 
larger  movement.  In  the  older  private  institutions  of  the  East, 
founded  by  Christian  people  for  definitely  religious  purposes  and 
still  Christian  in  character  and  spirit,  changes  were  taking  place 
which  restricted  the  time  given  to  formal  instruction  in  religion. 
An  increasingly  large  number  of  students  graduated  who  possessed 
but  the  slightest  acquaintance  with  theology  and  the  history  of 
the  Church.  The  more  strictly  denominational  colleges,  on  the 
other  hand,  continued  to  require  the  study  of  religion  by  all 
students,  and  emphasized  the  responsibility  of  the  college  to  win 
each  student,  as  far  as  possible,  to  the  Christian  faith.^ 

In  analyzing  the  present  attitude  of  our  colleges  and  universities 

^The  report  of  the  Standardization  Committee  on  Biblical  Departments 
for  1921  lists  307  colleges  and  universities  giving  instruction  on  religious 
subjects  (including  the  Bible).  They  are  divided  into  four  grades  according 
to  the  quality  of  the  instruction  given,  of  which  A  includes  88  institutions,  B 
51,  C  102,  and  D  66. 


310  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

toward  religion  we  have  to  distinguish  three  different  kinds  of 
institutions:  the  state  universities,  powerful  institutions  with  great 
prestige,  large  financial  resources,  and  many  thousands  of  students, 
from  which  until  recently  all  formal  teaching  of  religion  has  been 
banished;  the  strictly  denominational  institutions,  usually  much 
smaller  and  less  well  endowed,  though  not  necessarily  less  efficient 
within  the  field  of  their  choice,  in  many  of  which  at  least  a  certain 
amount  of  religious  instruction  is  required  of  all  students ;  ^  and 
the  privately  supported  colleges  and  universities  in  the  older  parts 
of  the  country.  These  are  still  Christian  in  sympathy  and  include 
religion  among  their  subjects  of  instruction,  but  they  do  not  ordi- 
narily require  it  as  part  of  the  conditions  necessary  for  graduation.^ 
As  the  state  universities  gained  in  strength  and  prestige,  not  a 
few  Christian  people  came  to  look  upon  them  as  godless  institu- 
tions from  which  no  help  could  be  expected  for  training  young  peo- 
ple for  an  active  religious  life.  Appeals  on  behalf  of  denomina- 
tional colleges  were  often  based  upon  the  irreligious  character  of 
the  state  universities.  The  attempt  was  made  to  develop  a  system 
of  higher  education  under  church  control  which  should  parallel 
their  activities  and  make  adequate  provision  for  the  education  of 
the  children  of  the  Chm-ch.  It  soon  became  clear,  however,  that 
such  a  duplication  of  educational  facilities  was  impracticable,  and 
in  many  parts  of  the  country  the  policy  of  co-operation  replaced 
the  earlier  attitude  of  opposition  and  rivalry.^  It  was  recognized 
that  the  students  in  our  state  universities  often  came  from  Christian 
homes,  and  what  was  needed  was  to  supplement  the  opportunities 
provided  by  the  university  by  adequate  facilities  for  religious 
instruction,  very  much  as  the  Sunday  school  supplements  the  work 
of  the  public  schools. 

*  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  even  in  the  strictly  denominational  col- 
leges the  number  in  which  the  study  of  rehgion  is  required  is  diminishing. 
The  tendency  is  to  rely  upon  the  quality  of  the  instruction  offered  to  attract 
students. 

'Of  the  450,000  students  in  our  colleges  and  universities,  about  half  are 
in  tax-supported  institutions;  of  the  remaining  225,000  somewhat  less  than 
half  are  in  the  private  colleges  and  universities,  leaving  somewhat  more  than 
a  quarter  of  the  whole  number  in  strictly  denominational  institutions.  Exact 
figures  are  not  at  present  available. 

'  In  the  South,  the  attitude  of  the  churches  to  the  state  institutions  is  still 
largely  one  of  suspicion.  The  recent  attempt  in  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky 
to  secure  the  prohibition  of  the  teaching  of  evolution  in  tax-supported  insti- 
tutions is  only  one  of  a  number  of  indications  of  this  attitude. 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  311 

This  was  attempted  in  various  ways.  Voluntary  Bible  classes 
were  provided  under  the  auspices  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association.  The 
equipment  of  the  local  churches  was  strengthened.  College  pastors 
were  called  to  look  after  the  students  of  the  several  denominations; 
buildings  were  erected  where  the  students  of  a  particular  denomi- 
nation could  be  cared  for  under  helpful  influences.  Most  recently 
the  experiment  has  been  tried  of  providing  courses  in  the  Bible  and 
other  religious  subjects  of  such  high  character  that  the  uni- 
versity has  been  willing  to  give  those  who  take  them  academic 
credit.^ 

The  proposal  to  establish  interdenominational  schools  of  re- 
ligion in  connection  with  state  universities  suggests  a  development 
of  great  promise.  A  beginning  has  been  made  at  the  University  of 
Missouri,  where  the  Disciples  Bible  College  has  added  a  Presby- 
terian teacher  to  its  staff  and  is  planning  to  add  representatives  of 
other  denominations.  The  University  of  Texas  has  an  Association 
of  Biblical  Instructors  in  which  different  denominations  are  repre- 
sented. The  Iowa  State  University  is  at  work  upon  plans  for  an 
affiliated  school  of  religion  to  be  co-ordinated  with  courses  of  a 
religious  nature  at  the  university;  and  similar  plans  are  under 
consideration  at  other  universities. 

Of  special  interest  as  an  example  of  co-operative  work  is  the 
recently  organized  Council  of  College  Pastors  at  Cornell.  Six  dif- 
ferent denominations  are  represented  in  this  Council  which  has  a 
single  treasury.     Each  pastor  is  responsible  for  a  definite  part  of 

'The  Methodists  and  the  Disciples  have  been  specially  active  in  this, 
the  former  through  the  Wesley  Foundation,  the  latter  through  Bible  Chairs, 
and  in  some  instances  Bible  Schools  maintained  at  university  centres.  Illinois, 
Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Indiana,  and  Kansas  may  be  mentioned  as  examples  of 
universities  where  such  co-operation  exists.  Dr.  Cope,  Secretary  of  the 
Religious  Education  Association,  has  compiled  a  list  of  thirteen  state  univer- 
sities at  which  extra-mural  credit  is  given  for  courses  in  religion  and  the 
Bible;  namely,  California,  Colorado,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Michi- 
gan, Missouri,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Nebraska,  Texas,  and  Wisconsin.  On  the 
subject  of  credit  for  religious  subjects  taken  at  other  institutions  cf.  Christian 
Education,  April,  1921,  pp.  9  sq. 

Some  state  universities  themselves  offer  courses  in  religious  subjects.  The 
University  of  Michigan  is  an  interesting  example.  One  of  the  curriculum 
courses  in  Biblical  literature  of  this  university  had  this  year  an  enrolment  of 
195  undergraduates.  Courses  in  New  Testament  Greek  and  the  Philosophy 
of  Religion  are  offered  by  Iowa  State  University,  which  will  form  a  part 
of  the  combined  offering  of  the  proposed  school  of  religion. 


312  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  work;  the  Baptist  takes  charge  of  friendly  relations,  the  Epis- 
copalian is  responsible  for  the  cultivation  of  the  devotional  life,  the 
Congregational  for  extension  work,  the  Lutheran  for  the  missionary 
interest,  the  Methodist  for  vocational  guidance,  and  the  Presby- 
terian for  voluntary  Bible  study.  At  Ohio  State  University  a  num- 
ber of  denominations  have  united  in  the  support  of  a  single  student 
pastor  to  represent  united  Protestantism,  and  the  same  is  true  of 
the  Michigan  Agricultural  College. 

The  original  impulse  to  this  activity  came  from  the  various 
denominational  boards  which  were  interested  primarily  in  looking 
after  the  students  of  their  own  denominations.  Since  the  establish- 
ing in  1911  of  the  Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Education,  how- 
ever, it  has  been  possible  to  deal  with  the  situation  in  a  more  thor- 
ough way.  Under  the  auspices  of  this  representative  body  a  sys- 
tematic study  of  Christian  education  in  our  colleges  and  univer- 
sities has  been  undertaken  and  unified  policies  have  been  developed.^ 
A  monthly  journal  serves  as  a  clearing-house  of  opinion  and  fur- 
nishes an  indispensable  source  of  information.^ 

In  addition  to  studying  the  state  universities,  the  Council  of 
Church  Boards  has  devoted  attention  to  the  denominational  col- 
leges. There  are  no  less  than  four  hundred  and  twenty  of  these, 
and  they  constitute  an  exceedingly  important  factor  in  our  educa- 
tional life.  Distributed  all  over  the  country,  many  of  them  in 
smaller  communities  where  the  cost  of  living  is  less  than  in  great 
cities  and  which  are  easily  accessible  to  the  neighboring  towns  and 
country  districts,  they  care  for  many  thousands  of  students  and 
form  the  largest  single  recruiting  ground  for  the  Christian  ministry. 
In  recent  years  much  has  been  done  to  improve  their  quality  and 
strengthen  their  resources,  and  they  are  to-day  one  of  the  most 
interesting  fields  for  the  study  of  what  is  possible  in  the  way  of 
higher  instruction  in  religion. 

A  different  and  in  some  respects  more  difficult  problem  is  pre- 
sented by  the  colleges  and  universities  in  the  eastern  and  middle 
states.    These  institutions  are  definitely  Christian  in  character  and 

*  Among  the  special  pieces  of  research  done  by  the  Council  may  be  men- 
tioned a  study  of  the  Congregational  colleges  undertaken  at  the  request  of  the 
Board  of  Education  of  that  church.  At  present  the  Council  is  engaged  in  a 
study  of  the  present  status  of  theological  education  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  much  to  be  desired  that  the  resources  at  the  disposal  of  the  Council 
should  be  increased  in  order  that  it  may  be  able  to  do  more  work  of  this  kind. 

'Christian  Education,  1916  sq. 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  313 

make  provision  in  various  ways  for  the  teaching  of  religion.  They 
have  daily  chapel  and  university  preaching  on  Sunday,  at  which  in 
some  cases  attendance  is  compulsory.  They  offer  courses  on  re- 
ligious subjects  both  for  undergraduate  and  for  graduate  students. 
Some  universities  maintain  theological  faculties  with  a  professional 
standing  equal  to  that  of  their  faculties  of  law  and  of  medicine. 
A  few  make  provision  for  a  college  pastor.  In  others  the  main 
reliance  for  the  maintenance  of  the  religious  life  of  the  students 
is  placed  upon  the  voluntary  services  of  the  Young  Men's  and 
Young  Women's  Christian  Associations  and  the  work  of  the  neigh- 
boring churches.  For  the  good  work  now  being  done  we  may  be 
grateful.  Yet  it  is  timely  to  inquire  whether  taking  them  as  a 
whole  our  eastern  colleges  and  universities  have  yet  faced  in  a 
comprehensive  way  their  responsibility  for  meeting  all  the  dif- 
ferent claims  which  may  legitimately  be  made  upon  them. 

There  are  three  groups  of  students  whose  needs  must  be  con- 
sidered separately:  first  of  all,  the  rank  and  file  of  students  who 
are  not  themselves  actively  interested  in  religion  but  who  should 
be  given  an  intelligent  conception  of  the  place  of  religion  in  human 
life,  of  the  function  of  the  Church  in  modern  society,  and  of  the 
contents  of  the  great  classic  of  English  literature,  the  Bible;  sec- 
ondly, those  students  who  are  now  or  may  become  actively  in- 
terested in  religion  and  upon  whom  the  Church  is  to  draw  for  lay 
volunteer  leadership;  finally,  the  still  smaller  group  who  are  to 
make  the  service  of  the  Church  their  life  work  in  the  regular 
ministry  or  in  some  one  of  the  various  specialized  forms  of  service. 
No  university  can  properly  be  said  to  have  done  its  duty  as  an 
educational  institution  that  has  not  made  definite  and  adequate 
provision  for  the  needs  of  each  of  these  three  groups. 

There  are  two  ways  in  which  the  university  can  make  provision 
for  the  first  of  these  needs.  One  is  through  special  courses  in  the 
Bible,  comparative  religion  and  the  philosophy  of  religion,  given 
either  as  parts  of  the  regular  curriculum  or  as  electivcs.  The  other 
is  by  making  place  for  a  treatment  of  religion  in  the  general  courses 
which  deal  with  history,  philosophy,  psychology,  sociology,  and  the 
like. 

With  the  present  pressure  upon  the  curriculum  and  the  delicate 
questions  that  grow  out  of  denominational  and  theological  dif- 
ferences, it  is  not  probable  that  the  amount  of  time  given  by  the 
average  undergraduate  to  special  courses  on  religious  subjects  will 


314  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

materially  increase.  An  occasional  new  course  may  be  added,  and 
the  quality  of  the  existing  courses  may  be  improved,  but  these 
courses  will  never  of  themselves  accomplish  all  that  is  needed,  if 
for  no  other  reason  than  that  they  are  taken  by  a  limited  number 
of  students.  To  give  the  rank  and  file  of  students  the  desired 
familiarity  with  the  facts  about  religion  and  the  proper  sense  of 
their  importance  it  will  be  necessary  to  interest  those  members  of 
the  faculty  who  teach  other  subjects.  Much  more  is  being  done 
along  this  line  than  is  commonly  recognized.  The  history  of  the 
Church  and  the  philosophy  of  religion  are  dealt  with  in  general 
courses  in  history  and  philosophy.  Great  figures  in  the  world  of 
religion  are  discussed  in  the  courses  on  literature.  But  such  dis- 
cussions are  usually  due  to  the  interest  of  the  individual  teacher 
and  form  no  part  of  a  comprehensive  plan.  If  there  could  be  in 
each  institution  some  one  person  whose  function  it  was  to  correlate 
what  is  now  being  done  in  the  different  classrooms  and  to  suggest 
further  points  which  could  be  wisely  emphasized,  a  stronger  im- 
pression would  be  produced  than  is  possible  under  our  present 
happy-go-lucky  system.^ 

Much  would  depend  on  the  personality  of  the  teacher.  The 
only  sure  way  to  make  students  realize  the  importance  of  religion 
as  a  subject  of  study  is  to  let  them  see  that  teachers  whom  they 
respect  regard  it  as  important.  Required  instruction  in  religion 
given  by  men  who  do  not  appreciate  the  significance  of  religion 
is  often  worse  than  useless.  But  when  the  student  hears  his  pro- 
fessor of  history  or  of  politics  or  of  psychology  calling  attention  to 
the  part  played  by  religion  in  human  life,  or  explaining  the  function 
of  the  Church  as  a  social  institution,  the  effect  is  all  the  more 
impressive  because  the  reference  is  imexpected.^ 

^It  is  of  interest  to  know  that  in  the  introductory  course  on  the  Problems 
of  Civilization  required  of  all  freshmen  at  Columbia,  the  subjects  of  religion 
and  the  Church  receive  due  recognition  as  factors  indispensable  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  world  in  which  we  live.  For  a  further  account  of  what  is 
being  done  along  this  line  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  author's  address  deliv- 
ered before  the  Yale  Convocation  entitled,  "The  Responsibility  of  the  Uni- 
versity for  the  Teaching  of  Religion,"  Yale  Divinity  Quarterly,  June,  1920. 

'This  would  seem  to  be  a  field  which  might  be  cultivated  with  profit  in 
the  state  universities.  Many  of  the  teachers  of  these  universities  are  Chris- 
tian men  who  would  gladly  co-operate  in  any  plan  to  give  the  subject  of 
religion  the  attention  it  deserves  in  those  courses  to  which  such  a  study  would 
be  germane. 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  315 

Here  is  an  opportunity  for  the  educational  evangelism  of  which 
we  were  speaking.  Much  has  been  done  to  win  college  students  to 
Christianity.  Little  has  been  done  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of 
the  members  of  the  faculties.  Yet  in  proportion  to  their  numbers 
the  faculty  members  probably  exercise  a  greater  influence  than 
any  other  body  of  men  in  the  country.  Our  universities  and  col- 
leges give  the  tone  to  our  national  life.  From  them  come  nine- 
tenths  of  the  leaders  in  every  walk  of  life.  To  them  therefore  the 
Church  must  look  for  leadership. 

Beside  the  students  whose  interest  in  religion  is  of  a  general 
character,  there  are  two  other  groups  to  which  the  university  has 
a  special  obligation:  the  thoughtful  students  who  are  to  be  the 
volunteer  lay  workers  in  our  churches,  and  those  who  are  going  to 
make  the  service  of  the  Church  their  life  work.  The  needs  of  the 
first  group  can  be  met  by  special  courses  similar  to  those  designed 
for  the  whole  body  of  the  students,  but  more  thorough.  Men 
expecting  to  enter  the  ministry  should  be  treated  like  the  students 
of  other  professional  schools  for  whom  the  university  provides 
courses  designed  to  lay  the  foundation  for  their  later  and  more 
technical  studies. 

In  this  connection  a  word  should  be  said  of  the  opportunity 
offered  by  the  summer  school  for  developing  an  interest  in  religious 
research.  Such  schools  are  held  every  summer  by  our  great  univer- 
sities {e.g.,  Columbia,  Chicago,  and  Harvard),  and  are  attended  by 
thousands  of  students.  Among  the  subjects  taught  in  these  schools 
religion  is  included.  At  Columbia  and  the  University  of  Chicago 
the  courses  given  are  somewhat  technical  in  character  and  are 
designed  primarily  for  theological  students  or  for  those  intending 
to  specialize  in  some  form  of  religious  education.  At  Harvard 
the  courses  are  briefer  and  meant  to  meet  the  needs  of  ministers 
who  cannot  afford  to  give  the  time  required  for  courses  which  count 
for  a  degree.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether  there  is  a 
public  which  would  be  attracted  by  plans  of  a  different  character. 
A  summer  school  of  religion  modelled  after  the  Williams  College 
School  of  Politics  would  be  an  interesting  experiment  and  might 
set  a  standard  for  similar  work  in  other  places.  In  such  a  school 
special  attention  could  be  given  to  the  responsibility  of  the  Church 
for  dealing  with  social  and  political  problems,  and  teachers  of 
national  repute  could  present  the  results  of  the  best  Christian  think- 


316  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

ing  to  men  and  women  who  were  themselves  at  work  in  these 
fields.^ 

In  addition  to  all  that  the  university  does  to  provide  instruction 
for  special  groups  of  students,  it  must  endeavor  to  create  a  general 
atmosphere  of  interest  in  the  theoretical  aspects  of  religion.  The 
questions  before  the  Church  cannot  be  dealt  with  in  a  narrow  or 
partisan  spirit.  They  require  consideration  by  thoughtful  men  of 
different  departments  under  such  conditions  as  exist  in  the  graduate 
schools  of  our  great  universities.  For  this  reason  we  welcome  the 
action  taken  by  some  of  our  leading  universities  ^  in  providing  for 
the  inclusion  of  religion  among  the  subjects  for  which  the  degree 
of  Ph.D.  is  given.  This  is  an  encouraging  indication  of  a  grow- 
ing recognition  by  the  university  of  a  responsibility  for  training 
thinkers  as  well  as  workers  in  the  field  of  religion. 

How  can  a  sympathetic  attitude  toward  the  study  of  religion 
on  the  part  of  our  college  and  university  teachers  be  further  culti- 
vated and  developed?  There  is  just  one  certain  way,  and  that  is  to 
make  the  Church  such  a  significant  factor  in  modern  life  that  it 
will  be  impossible  to  ignore  it.  When  our  teachers  see  the  churches 
doing  the  things  that  seem  to  them  important  within  the  fields 
which  they  are  studying,  they  will  begin  to  take  note  of  this  fact 
in  their  classrooms.  Whatever  we  can  do,  therefore,  to  make  the 
Church  stronger  and  more  effective  will  help  to  win  a  larger  place 
for  the  teaching  of  religion  in  the  curricula  of  our  institutions  of 
higher  education. 

These  considerations  have  a  direct  bearing  upon  recruiting  for 
the  ministry.  Much  may  be  done  to  win  men  for  the  cause  by 
individual  appeal  and  by  group  conferences,  but  the  one  argument 
that  cannot  be  resisted  is  the  presence  in  the  ministry  to-day  of 
men  who  are  doing  work  which  is  evidently  worth  while.  Such 
men  create  their  own  successors,  and  without  the  reinforcement  of 
such  examples  every  other  argument  must  fail.    This  introduces  us 

^  A  word  should  be  said  of  the  summer  conferences  for  students  held  at 
Geneva,  Silver  Bay,  Blue  Ridge,  and  other  centres,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  These  gatherings  have  done  much  to  inter- 
est students  in  the  study  of  religion  and  give  them  an  intelligent  appreciation 
of  the  missionary  work  of  the  Church. 

"E.g.,  Yale  and  the  University  of  Chicago.  Until  recently  Harvard  also 
gave  the  degree  of  Ph.D.  in  religion,  but  this  has  now  been  superseded  by  the 
degree  of  Th.D.,  administered  by  the  theological  faculty. 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  317 

naturally  to  the  next  subject  to  be  considered,  the  present  state  of 
ministerial  education. 

3.     Recent  Developments  in  Ministerial  Education— Training  for 

Other  Forms   of  Specialized  Service— The   Church's 

Responsibility  for  Training  Its  Workers 

in  the  Field  ^ 

Important  as  it  is  to  increase  the  number  of  laymen  trained  to 
think  independently  about  religion,  we  shall  not  accomplish  what 
we  desire  unless  we  can  effect  corresponding  changes  in  the  char- 
acter and  training  of  the  ministry;  for  the  Church  is  at  heart,  as 
we  have  seen,  an  institution  of  worship,  and  the  man  who  leads  in 
worship  gives  tone  to  the  life  of  the  whole. 

This  fact  the  churches  of  America  have  fully  appreciated. 
They  have  made  generous  provision  for  the  training  of  their  min- 
isters, at  first  in  connection  with  the  existing  colleges,  then  in 
denominational  seminaries  provided  for  the  purpose.  These  semi- 
naries, now  about  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  -  in  number,  com- 
mand large  resources  in  property  and  men  and  together  constitute  a 
factor  of  importance  in  moulding  the  religious  life  of  America.  It 
is  instructive  to  inquire  what  influences  are  at  work  in  them  and 
what  ideals  control  their  policy. 

Like  the  denominations  which  have  created  them,  the  seminaries 
of  the  country  differ  widely.  In  a  conservative  body  like  the 
Lutheran,  where  doctrinal  orthodoxy  is  strongly  insisted  on,  the 
seminaries  are  under  strict  denominational  control  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  teaching  conforms  closely  to  the  official  standards  of 
the  church.  In  loosely  organized  bodies  like  the  Congregational- 
ists  and  Baptists,  greater  freedom  obtains,  and  the  character  of  the 

*Cf.  W.  Adams  Brown,  "Theological  Education,"  printed  in  Monroe's 
Cyclopedia  of  Education,  New  York,  1914,  Vol.  V,  pp.  582-606. 

'These  figures,  supplied  by  Dr.  Kelly  of  the  Council  of  Church  Boards 
of  Education,  include  only  the  Protestant  seminaries.  Of  these  22  are  exclu- 
sively for  Negroes.  In  addition  there  are  32  Roman  Catholic  seminaries,  2 
Hebrew  seminaries,  and  9  theological  departments  in  colleges  and  universities. 
A  careful  list  compiled  by  the  librarian  of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary 
puts  the  number  of  Protestant  seminaries  (both  white  and  colored)  at  167. 
The  denominational  distribution  is  as  follows:  Baptist,  29;  Congregational,  12; 
Lutheran,  22;  Methodist,  27;  Presbyterian,  27;  Protestant  Episcopal,  13;  other 
bodies,  29;  undenominational,  8.  The  discrepancy  in  these  figures  is  doubtless 
to  be  accounted  for  by  the  use  of  different  principles  of  classification. 


318  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

instruction  given  is  determined  by  the  judgment  of  the  faculty  and 
the  prevailing  opinion  of  that  section  of  the  church  in  which  the 
graduates  of  the  seminary  are  expected  to  work.  In  the  Presby- 
terian, Episcopal,  and  Methodist  churches  the  method  of  control 
varies.  The  theoretical  right  of  the  church  to  determine  the  char- 
acter of  the  teaching  is  generally  recognized,  but  in  practice  the 
entire  management  of  the  school  is  committed  to  the  trustees  or 
governing  boards  of  the  several  institutions. 

From  the  seminaries  under  denominational  control  must  be  dis- 
tinguished those  theological  schools  which  are  entirely  independent. 
These  are  of  two  kinds:  the  theological  faculties  of  our  great  uni- 
versities like  Harvard  and  Yale,  which  are  university  faculties  in 
the  strict  sense  and  are  governed  by  the  corporation  of  the  univer- 
sity, and  independent  schools  like  Union  Theological  Seminary  in 
New  York  City,  which  may  have  university  affiliation  but  which 
are  governed  by  their  own  self-perpetuating  boards  of  trustees. 
The  tendency  to  secure  freedom  from  ecclesiastical  control  which 
we  have  already  noted  in  our  study  of  colleges  and  universities 
reappears  in  the  seminaries.  Even  where  the  connection  with  the 
denomination  still  remains,  the  number  of  seminaries  which  for  all 
practical  intents  and  purposes  may  be  regarded  as  independent  is 
increasing. 

In  general  the  seminaries  of  the  United  States  have  faithfully 
reflected  the  qualities  which  have  characterized  the  religious  life 
of  America.  They  have  regarded  it  as  their  prime  responsibility 
to  train  men  for  the  ministry  of  their  own  denomination  and  have 
given  relatively  little  attention  to  the  affairs  of  other  churches.  If 
the  tenets  of  other  bodies  have  been  taken  into  account,  it  has 
been  to  point  out  their  errors  and  to  contrast  them  with  the  purer 
and  more  adequate  statements  of  the  teacher's  own  denomination. 
The  theology  taught  has  been  for  the  most  part  highly  individual- 
istic and  has  presupposed  a  view  of  the  world  in  which  nature  and 
the  supernatural  are  sharply  contrasted.  The  curriculum  has  been 
simple  and  has  varied  little  in  the  different  schools.  It  included  a 
knowledge  of  the  languages  of  the  Bible,  exegesis,  church  history, 
systematic  theology  and  practical  theology,  which  included  homi- 
letics  and  pastoral  theology. 

This  conception  of  ministerial  education  is  gradually  changing 
as  a  result  of  a  number  of  influences,  some  of  which  we  have  noted. 
Among  these  the  most  important  are  the  general  acceptance  of  the 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  319 

scientific  method,  the  growing  interest  in  questions  of  applied 
Christianity,  and  the  weakening  of  the  barriers  between  the  denomi- 
nations. 

Of  the  first  of  these  we  have  spoken  elsewhere.  The  influence 
of  the  modern  scientific  movement  upon  education  in  general  has 
been  reflected  in  our  seminaries  and  has  affected  both  subject 
matter  and  method  of  teaching.  Critical  and  historical  questions 
occupy  a  larger  space  than  before  and  the  rival  theories  of  spe- 
cialists fill  much  of  the  time  previously  given  to  mastering  the 
contents  of  the  Bible.  The  attitude  taken  toward  the  new  science 
varies  in  the  seminaries  as  in  the  denominations  they  represent,  and 
the  effects  have  been  on  the  whole  similar.  In  the  more  conserva- 
tive seminaries  the  critical  study  of  the  Bible  is  still  looked  upon 
with  suspicion,  and  the  conclusions  of  the  more  radical  critics  are 
uncompromisingly  opposed.  An  increasing  number  both  of  teachers 
and  of  students,  however,  approach  all  religious  questions  with  an 
open  mind  and  find  no  difiiculty  in  reconciling  a  whole-hearted 
Christian  faith  with  the  acceptance  of  the  point  of  view  which  con- 
trols men's  thinking  in  other  spheres  of  human  interest. 

A  greater  interest  in  applied  Christianity  is  shown  in  many 
ways.  More  attention  is  given  to  the  practical  problems  of  the 
modern  Church.  Christian  ethics,  once  taught  as  a  part  of  sys- 
tematic theology,  becomes  a  separate  study  in  which  the  difficult 
question  of  applying  Christianity  to  our  contemporary  economic 
and  political  life  is  discussed.  Christian  missions  at  home  and 
abroad  is  made  the  subject  of  special  instruction.  The  practical 
work  done  by  the  students  in  the  different  churches  and  philan- 
thropic institutions  is  supervised  and  the  conception  of  the  city 
as  a  laboratory  for  the  study  of  religion  in  action  is  emphasized. 

The  emphasis  upon  the  practical  application  of  the  Gospel 
brings  many  students  to  the  seminaries  which  are  located  in  the 
larger  centres  of  population  where  they  can  enjoy  the  advantages 
of  the  existing  educational  and  philanthropic  institutions.  In  New 
York  there  are  three  theological  seminaries.  In  Chicago  and  its  neigh- 
borhood, there  are  eight;  in  Boston,  six.  Some  of  these  have  close 
aflfiliations  with  Columbia,  the  University  of  Chicago,  or  Harvard. 
All  recognize  the  advantage  of  the  practical  contacts  afforded  by  the 
life  of  a  great  city.  Institutions  like  the  Union  Settlement,  South 
End  House,  and  the  Chicago  Commons  give  the  students  an  excep- 
tionally favorable  opportunity  to  study  human  problems.     They 


320  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

go  out  equipped  with  more  practical  experience  than  could  other- 
wise have  been  acquired.  There  is,  of  course,  a  danger  in  the 
pressure  of  conflicting  interests.  Schools  like  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Seminary  at  Alexandria,  Virginia,  where  quiet  hours  with  the 
great  thinkers  of  the  past  are  still  possible,  will  always  maintain 
their  place.  For  the  present,  however,  the  tendency  of  students  to 
congregate  in  the  great  cities  seems  likely  to  continue.  As  long  as 
this  is  true  it  is  natural  that  students  of  theology  should  be  there 
too. 

Among  the  important  influences  which  are  further  affecting 
present  methods  of  theological  education  is  the  spirit  of  Christian 
unity.  Denominational  barriers  are  more  and  more  breaking  down. 
Men  may  pass  freely  from  the  seminaries  of  one  denomination  to 
another.  At  Princeton,  the  leading  representative  of  Presbyterian 
orthodoxy,  twenty-three  denominations  are  represented  in  the 
student  body.  At  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  New  York 
there  are  thirty-one.  In  most  of  the  larger  seminaries  this 
state  of  things  can  be  duplicated.  What  is  more  significant,  we 
find  seminaries  in  which  the  same  catholicity  appears  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  faculty.  At  Union  six  different  communions  are 
represented  in  the  faculty;  at  Harvard,  five;  at  Yale,  four;  at  the 
University  of  Chicago,  six. 

The  broadening  of  the  constituency  of  the  seminary  is  reflected 
in  its  teaching,  which  becomes  less  rigidly  denominational,  more 
catholic  and  inclusive.  The  consciousness  of  the  larger  Church  is 
beginning  to  invade  even  the  most  conservative  of  the  seminaries, 
and  this  fact  is  rich  in  promise  for  the  future  of  the  American 
Church. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  line  between  conservative  and 
liberal,  could  one  be  drawn,  would  not  correspond  with  denomina- 
tional divisions.  Each  large  denomination  has  its  more  liberal 
and  its  more  conservative  schools,  with  the  various  shadings  within 
each.  In  each  case  the  sympathy  that  grows  out  of  similar  tem- 
perament and  outlook  cuts  across  denominational  lines.  The  writer 
belongs  to  a  theological  society  composed  of  teachers  from  a  dozen 
of  the  leading  theological  schools  of  the  different  denominations — 
Presbyterian,  Episcopal,  Methodist,  Baptist,  Congregational.  The 
subjects  discussed  are  of  the  most  fundamental  and  divisive  char- 
acter and  the  differences  in  opinion  of  the  participants  are  often 
great.    Yet  in  method  of  approach,  in  unity  of  aim,  in  deep  spiritual 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  321 

sympathy  with  one  another,  in  the  consciousness  of  belonging  to  a 
single  unbroken  fellowship  the  members  of  the  society  are  at  one. 
In  this  they  are  typical  of  a  far  larger  number  of  teachers  in  all 
branches  of  the  Church. 

Under  these  influences  we  see  the  curriculum  broadening  and 
becoming  more  flexible.     New  subjects  are  included,  such  as  the 
history  of  religion,  the  psychology  of  religion,  and  sociology.    Many 
modern  seminaries  have  a  department  of  religious  education  where 
instruction  is  given  both  in  the  theoretical  and  the  practical  aspects 
of  the  subject.    Electives  multiply  until  they  run  up  into  the  hun- 
dreds.    The  student  with  a  practical  interest  finds  it  possible  to 
specialize,   while   higher   degrees   encourage   the   more   thoughtful 
student  to  prolong  his  studies  for  one,  two,  or  three  more  years. 
In  two  particulars  this  tendency  to  specialize  is  noteworthy. 
One  is  the  attempt  to  adapt  the  studies  carried  on  in  the  seminary 
to  the  work  for  which  the  student  is  preparing  himself  after  gradu- 
ation.   The  differentiation  of  tasks  of  which  our  preliminary  analy- 
sis has  reminded  us  requires  corresponding  differences  in  training. 
This  the  seminaries  are  beginning  to  provide.     In  addition  to  the 
subjects  which  must  be  included  in  every  minister's  education,  spe- 
cial preparation  is  needed  by  the  minister  of  a  country  parish,  by 
the  man  whose  work  is  in  the  congested  districts  of  our  great 
cities,  by  the  specialist  in  religious  education,  by  the  missionary 
who  goes  to  the  foreign  field.     These  needs  are  met  by  special 
courses  leading  in  some  cases  to  vocational  diplomas. 

The  second  form  of  specialization  is  in  connection  with  scholar- 
ship and  research.  From  the  first  the  seminaries  have  recognized 
their  obligation  to  contribute  to  the  scientific  study  of  religion,  and 
the  long  and  constantly  increasing  number  of  monographs  in  the 
various  fields  of  religious  knowledge  have  for  the  most  part  semi- 
nary professors  for  their  authors.  In  the  past  these  volumes  have 
been  written  on  the  familiar  subjects  of  the  older  curriculum,  the 
criticism  and  interpretation  of  the  Bible,  church  history,  theology, 
and  the  like.  More  recently  the  practical  problems  before  the 
Church  have  been  studied  and  teachers  of  Christian  ethics  and  its 
allied  subject.  Christian  institutions,  are  contributing  their  share 
to  the  theological  output.  The  psychology  of  religion  and  the 
theoretical  aspects  of  religious  education,  as  well  as  the  history  of 
religions,  are  receiving  increasing  attention. 

It  is,  of  course,  true  that  the  extent  of  these  changes  differs  in 


322  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

different  institutions.  Some  seminaries  have  felt  the  new  influences 
little,  some  consciously  repel  them.  None  are  entirely  unaffected 
by  them. 

A  subject  which  concerns  all  seminaries  alike  is  the  number  of 
men  who  are  entering  the  ministry  without  a  thorough  prepara- 
tion. Statistics  are  not  available  to  show  how  many  ministers  in 
the  Protestant  churches  are  without  either  college  or  seminary 
training,  but  we  know  that  they  are  very  many  and  that  the  num- 
ber appears  to  be  increasing.^  What  is  more  serious,  we  find  that 
a  campaign  is  being  carried  on  against  the  seminaries  which  insist 
upon  a  high  standard  for  their  graduates.  They  are  attacked  as 
out  of  touch  with  the  churches  and  congregations  are  urged  to  take 
men  who  have  a  more  direct  and  vital  Gospel.  This  campaign  is 
closely  connected  with  the  revival  of  premillenarianism.  A  fertile 
field  for  this  propaganda  has  been  the  Bible  Institutes,  which,  origi- 
nally designed  for  the  training  of  lay  workers,  are  now  sending 
many  of  their  graduates  into  the  ministry.-  Many  of  the  teachers 
in  these  schools  are  committed  to  a  literal  interpretation  of  the 
Scripture  which  insists  upon  the  visible,  personal  second  coming  of 
Christ.  They  suspect  Christians  who  do  not  hold  this  view,  how- 
ever conservative  in  other  respects  their  theology  may  be.  Those 
who  accept  the  modern  critical  view  of  the  Bible  are  regarded  as 
enemies  of  the  faith  and  an  active  propaganda  is  carried  on  against 
them. 

One  salutary  effect  of  this  campaign  has  been  to  unite  the 
friends  of  a  thorough  training  for  the  ministry.  The  recent  forma- 
tion of  the  Conference  of  Theological  Seminaries  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada  was  an  encouraging  evidence  of  such  union. 
This  conference,  begun  four  years  ago  at  Harvard  at  the  invitation 
of  President  Lowell,  brought  together  representatives  of  more  than 
fifty  seminaries.  It  was  repeated  two  years  ago  at  Princeton  where 
thirty-five  institutions  were  represented.  It  has  now  become  a 
biennial  affair.  Teachers  of  different  denominations,  widely  sepa- 
rated in  theological  and  ecclesiastical  position,  meet  for  friendly 
discussion  of  their  common  problems.  Provision  has  been  made 
for  a  Continuation  Committee  which  is  to  meet  in  the  interim,  and 

*Some  of  those  who  have  studied  the  situation  estimate  that  taking  the 
country  as  a  whole  less  than  half  the  present  ministry  have  had  both  a  college 
and  a  seminary  course,  and  a  very  large  number  of  ministers  have  had  neither. 

'  This  is  notably  true  of  the  Institutes  at  Los  Angeles  and  Chicago, 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  323 

other  committees  are  conducting  investigations  which  will  be  to 
the  mutual  advantage  of  all  concerned.^ 

The  existence  of  this  Conference,  with  its  committees,  opens  the 
way  for  a  serious  consideration  of  some  of  the  larger  questions  of 
ecclesiastical  policy,  of  which  one  of  the  most  important  is  what 
can  be  done  to  provide  a  ministry  for  those  churches  which  cannot 
afford  the  highly  trained  graduates  of  the  seminaries  which  require 
a  college  degree  for  entrance.  At  present  the  Bible  Institutes  are 
definitely  trying  to  meet  this  need.  It  is  for  the  educational 
authorities  of  the  churches  to  decide  whether  they  will  provide 
briefer,  although  still  thorough,  courses  of  instruction  for  men 
without  college  training. 

There  are  two  possible  ways  in  which  this  could  be  done.  Some 
of  our  existing  seminaries  could  be  equipped  with  facilities  to  do 
the  work  on  a  large  scale ;  ^  or  new  institutions  could  be  estab- 
lished with  their  own  governing  boards  and  faculties.  The  latter 
would  only  be  possible  on  an  adequate  scale  if  a  part  of  the  funds 
now  directed  to  the  higher  education  of  the  ministry  were  diverted 
to  this  purpose  and  the  gap  filled  by  the  consolidation  of  existing 
institutions.  If  our  seminaries  are  to  justify  the  large  sums  spent 
upon  them,  something  of  the  sort  should  in  any  case  be  done.  A 
study  of  the  whole  field  is  needed  in  order  to  ascertain  where  the 
major  needs  lie  and  what  changes  or  additions  are  desirable. 

Such  a  study  should  also  include  a  survey  of  the  facilities  avail- 
able for  fitting  men  and  women  for  other  forms  of  specialized 
religious  service.^  Many  of  those  who  are  fitting  themselves  to 
teach  religion  now  receive  their  training  in  our  seminaries.*  Secre- 
taries of  the  Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations are  prepared  for  their  work  in  special  institutions  created 

^E.g.,  on  the  subject  of  pre-seminary  studies;  on  the  opportunities  for 
theological  study  for  American  students  in  the  universities  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  Continent,  and  on  similar  facilities  offered  to  foreign  students  in  the 
institutions  of  this  country,  etc. 

'  Bangor  and  Hamilton  are  examples  of  seminaries  which  have  definitely 
adopted  the  policy  of  training  men  for  the  ministry  who  are  not  college 
graduates. 

*In  the  April  number  of  Christian  Education  for  1921,  0.  D.  Foster  gives 
a  list  of  sixty-four  such  institutions  with  statistics  of  the  number  of  students 
attending  them.  This  study  makes  apparent  the  almost  complete  lack  of 
standardization  in  this  field. 

*  Hartford  maintains  a  separate  School  of  Pedagogy,  giving  the  degrees  of 
Doctor  of  Philosophy,  Master  of  Pedagogy,  and  Bachelor  of  Pedagogy. 


324  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

for  the  purpose.^  But  there  is  a  wide  field  in  which  little  or  noth- 
ing is  being  done  except  by  voluntary  agencies  like  the  Bible  Insti- 
tutes. Certain  denominations  provide  training  schools  for  lay 
workers  where  elementary  instruction  is  given  for  a  year  or  two 
years.  The  Episcopalians  and  Methodists  have  their  deaconess' 
schools,  but  the  work  is  of  an  elementary  character  and  leads  to 
no  recognized  degree.  A  promising  experiment  is  the  Social- 
Religious  Workers'  course  for  college  graduates  carried  on  jointly 
by  the  Methodists  and  Presbyterians  in  connection  with  Teachers 
College.^  A  similar  school  is  being  conducted  by  the  Methodists 
at  Evanston.  These  are  beginnings,  all  but  negligible  in  compari- 
son with  the  greatness  of  the  opportunity.  A  comprehensive  sur- 
vey of  the  whole  situation  would  lead  to  a  closer  co-ordination  of 
our  existing  facilities,  and  might  raise  the  question  whether  in 
addition  to  the  existing  schools  for  vocational  training  there  is  not 
room  for  some  central  institution,  either  independent  or  attached 
to  an  existing  seminary  or  university,  which  could  do  for  religious 
education  what  Teachers  College  does  for  secular  education.  Such 
a  central  institution  might  set  a  standard  which  would  elevate  the 
tone  of  religious  teaching  the  country  over. 

Scarcely  less  important  than  to  guard  the  entrance  into  the 
ministry  and  to  provide  adequate  training  for  lay  workers,  is  it 
to  see  that  those  who  have  entered  these  callings  without  suflficient 
education  shall  have  an  opportunity  to  supplement  their  deficiencies 
after  they  are  in.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  Methodist  Church  that 
in  theory  at  least  it  has  grappled  with  this  problem  and  made  con- 
tinued study  a  requirement  for  the  body  of  its  working  ministry. 
Its  annual  conferences  bring  together  untrained  or  half-trained 
ministers,  examine  them  on  a  course  of  reading  prescribed  for  the 
year,  and  give  them  a  course  of  lectures  by  older  and  more  experi- 
enced teachers  on  themes  of  central  importance,  both  theoretical 
and  practical.     It  is  true  that  the  character  of  the  work  done  in 

^E.g.,  The  National  Training  School  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association,  New  York;  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  College  at 
Springfield,  Massachusetts;  the  Chicago  and  Lake  Geneva  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  College. 

'  Those  who  take  this  course  live  in  the  different  churches  and  settlements 
which  they  serve  and  devote  half  their  time  to  neighborhood  or  parish  work, 
sharing  their  experience  with  one  another  and  using  the  city  as  a  laboratory 
from  which  to  draw  the  material  which  is  interpreted  to  them  in  the  class- 
room. 


FINDING  AND  TRAINING  LEADERS  325 

these  conferences  differs  greatly  and  is  often  superficial  and  unsat- 
isfactory. Nevertheless  the  principle  has  been  established  and  all 
that  is  needed  is  to  improve  what  has  been  begun. 

What  is  done  for  the  Methodist  ministry  by  means  of  con- 
ferences is  being  done  by  some  of  our  home-missionary  boards  for 
their  own  workers.  From  time  to  time  they  bring  together  a 
selected  number  of  workers  for  a  discussion  of  common  problems. 
Such  conferences  not  only  provide  needed  information  and  instruc- 
tion for  the  individual,  but  also  create  an  esprit  de  corps  which  is 
invaluable.  Plans  for  more  extended  study  are  being  considered 
by  some  of  the  boards,  but  have  not  yet  been  developed  far  enough 
for  notice  here. 

The  furlough  gives  our  foreign  missionaries  a  convenient  oppor- 
tunity for  more  prolonged  study,  and  every  year  an  increasing  num- 
ber come  to  our  seminaries  and  universities  for  serious  graduate 
work.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  financial  pressure  upon 
the  returned  missionary  and  the  demand  for  his  services  as  a 
speaker  prevent  many  who  desire  to  do  so  from  taking  advantage 
of  this  opportunity. 

The  intellectual  refreshment  which  the  mission  boards  provide 
for  their  workers  through  their  group  conferences  ought  to  be  avail- 
able for  all  the  ministry.  Something  can  be  done  by  the  seminaries 
through  summer  schools  and  conferences.  Such  conferences  have 
been  held  at  Harvard,  Union,  Auburn,  Chicago,  and  elsewhere  with 
gratifying  success.^  Yale  holds  an  annual  convocation  lasting  a 
week,  which  is  attended  by  many  ministers,  and  the  same  is  true 
of  Bangor.  In  several  denominations  annual  congresses  have  been 
held  which  have  proved  a  fruitful  source  of  instruction  and  stimu- 
lus, all  the  more  because  they  have  brought  together  for  friendly 
conference  men  of  very  different  theological  and  ecclesiastical  posi- 
tions. But  such  occasional  and  unrelated  meetings  reach  only  a 
comparatively  small  number  and  leave  untouched  those  who  most 
need  stimulus  and  guidance.  To  deal  with  the  situation  on  an 
adequate  scale  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  educational  authorities 
of  the  several  denominations  to  co-operate  with  the  colleges  and 
seminaries  in  some  nation-wide  plan  of  extension  work,  making 

*  A  special  word  should  be  said  of  the  work  that  has  been  done  at  Hampton 
Institute  through  the  summer  conference  for  Negro  ministers.  Howard  Uni- 
versity is  also  carrying  on  extension  work  in  the  same  field. 


326  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

possible  for  the  Church  as  a  whole  what  the  Methodist  Church  now 
offers  its  ministers. 

One  educational  agency  of  great  promise  has  been  almost 
entirely  overlooked,  and  that  is  the  stated  meetings  of  the  ecclesias- 
tical bodies  themselves.  Beside  the  national  conventions  and  coun- 
cils which  reach  only  a  few  and  where  the  volume  of  work  makes 
any  large  educational  programme  impossible,  there  are  intermedi- 
ate bodies  like  the  presbytery,  the  diocese,  the  classis,  the  district 
convention,  which  include  all  the  clergy  within  a  specified  area. 
The  meetings  of  these  bodies  are  often  taken  up  with  details  of  a 
more  or  less  unprofitable  character  and  leading  ministers  are  often 
conspicuous  by  their  absence.  If  these  units  would  constitute  them- 
selves study  groups  for  the  consideration  of  the  vital  problems  and 
would  appoint  committees  to  gather  material  during  the  year 
which  could  be  presented  for  discussion  when  the  body  meets,  they 
might  in  time  do  much  to  change  the  intellectual  outlook  of  the 
ministry.^ 

The  conception  of  the  Church  as  an  educational  institution 
brings  before  us  with  renewed  force  our  need  of  leadership.  Impor- 
tant as  it  is  for  us  to  see  that  our  ministers  are  encouraged  to  study, 
it  is  no  less  important  that  they  should  be  furnished  with  the  best 
possible  helps  to  effective  study ;  but  for  this  there  must  be  exten- 
sive co-operation.  Not  enough  is  being  done  to  bring  together  our 
constructive  thinkers ;  not  enough  to  direct  the  young  men,  who  are 
beginning  their  studies,  to  the  fields  which  most  need  to  be  culti- 
vated; still  less  to  interpret  to  those  who  are  actively  at  work  the 
lines  along  which  the  best  contemporary  thought  is  moving.  There 
are  many  minds  at  work,  but  we  have  as  yet  no  common  mind. 
This  introduces  so  important  a  subject  that  we  must  reserve  it  for 
another  chapter. 

^In  the  Presbyterian  Church  an  interesting  experiment  is  being  tried.  In 
some  of  the  Western  synods,  notably  Oregon  and  California,  a  week  is  given 
up  to  the  meeting  of  synod  and  the  religious  condition  of  the  state  is  made 
the  subject  of  concerted  study.  Those  who  have  attended  meetings  of  synod 
under  the  new  plan  report  the  change  in  the  spirit  of  the  meetings  as  remark- 
able and  the  effect  upon  those  who  attend  as  far-reaching. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THINKING  TOGETHER 

1.     The  Christian  Way  of  Dealing  with  Difference — The  Church 
as  a  Training  School  in  Co-operative  Thinking 

The  preceding  pages  have  made  us  familiar  with  what  has  thus 
far  been  done  to  bring  about  co-operation  in  the  American  churches. 
It  is  an  encouraging  story.  In  spite  of  much  limitation  and  fail- 
ure, there  has  been  a  steady  progress  in  understanding  and  sym- 
pathy. Barriers  have  been  broken  down.  Contacts  have  been 
established,  in  the  local  community,  in  our  educational  and  mis- 
sionary agencies,  in  the  Church  at  large.  What  is  needed  now  is  to 
carry  the  process  farther,  to  relate  the  groups  that  are  still  inde- 
pendent, to  co-ordinate  the  agencies  that  now  parallel  or  compete 
with  one  another,  to  provide  adequate  leadership  for  the  Church 
as  a  whole. 

This  is  not  simply  a  matter  of  setting  up  new  machinery.  It 
may  be  necessary  to  do  this — we  shall  give  reasons  for  thinking 
that  it  is — but  of  itself  it  will  not  accomplish  what  we  want.  What 
is  needed  is  a  new  mental  attitude.  We  must  not  only  be  willing 
to  work  with  our  fellow-Christians;  we  must  be  willing  to  think 
with  them,  which  is  a  different  and  a  more  difficult  matter. 

We  may  learn  a  lesson  from  the  students  of  physical  science. 
They  have  carried  co-operation  in  research  farther  than  any  other 
group  have  done,  and  to  this  fact  their  extraordinary  successes  are 
largely  due.  No  other  field  of  study  has  been  so  well  organized, 
and  nowhere  else  have  the  results  of  research  to  date  produced 
more  revolutionary  effects  upon  practice. 

But  organization  could  not  have  produced  such  results  without 
the  spirit  of  co-operation.  In  all  the  great  branches  of  research 
men  are  working  side  by  side,  sharing  one  another's  insights,  testing 
one  another's  conclusions,  rejoicing  in  one  another's  successes,  mak- 
ing each  new  discovery  common  property  that  it  may  form  the 
point  of  departure  for  the  next  forward  step,  by  whomever  it  may 
be  made.    Science  is  only  another  name  for  thinking  together. 

327 


328  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Why  can  we  not  do  the  same  thing  in  the  Church?  In  his 
recent  book,  "The  Mind  in  the  Making,"  ^  Professor  James  Harvey 
Robinson  suggests  an  answer.  He  contrasts  the  divisions  and  prej- 
udices which  characterize  our  thinking  about  the  human  problems 
which  bear  most  directly  upon  our  daily  welfare  with  the  unity  and 
precision  with  which  students  of  the  physical  universe  approach 
their  problems.  Why  is  it,  he  asks,  that  while  in  a  comparatively 
short  time  our  attitude  toward  nature  has  been  revolutionized  and 
we  command  powers  of  which  our  fathers  never  dreamed,  we  have 
made  such  slight  progress  in  dealing  with  the  infinitely  more  impor- 
tant problems  of  government  and  education?  He  concludes  that 
the  trouble  is  with  our  way  of  thinking.  To  our  study  of  the 
physical  universe  we  bring  a  perfectly  open  mind.  In  our  attitude 
toward  our  fellow-men,  on  the  other  hand,  tradition  still  holds 
sway.  We  assume  that  what  is  old  must  be  good.  It  not  only  hurts 
us  to  change  our  minds;  it  seems  to  us  immoral.  What  the  scientist 
regards  as  the  greatest  virtue,  the  patriot  and  the  preacher  con- 
demn as  the  unforgivable  sin.  Professor  Robinson  insists  that  this 
attitude  must  be  changed  if  we  are  to  make  progress  toward  a 
better  society.  We  must  rid  ourselves  of  our  prejudices  in  favor  of 
the  old  and  be  ready,  if  necessary,  to  break  completely  with  the 
beliefs  of  the  past.^ 

There  is  enough  truth  in  the  contrast  to  provide  food  for  self- 
examination.    Yet  of  itself  it  does  not  tell  the  whole  story. 

The  divergence  of  which  Professor  Robinson  reminds  us  is  not 
simply  due  to  a  difference  in  the  mental  attitude  of  those  who  are 
studying;  it  grows  in  part  out  of  the  nature  of  the  subject  to  be 
studied.  The  physical  sciences  deal  with  objects  which  can  be 
touched  and  measured,  and  the  problems  which  they  propose  for 

*New  York,  1921. 

'Cf.  especially  p.  25.  "In  order  that  these  discoveries  (of  physical  science) 
should  be  made  and  ingeniously  applied  to  the  conveniences  of  life,  it  was 
necessary  to  discard  practically  all  the  consecrated  notions  of  the  world  and  ita 
workings  which  had  been  held  by  the  best  and  wisest  and  purest  of  man- 
kind down  to  three  hundred  years  ago — indeed,  until  much  more  recently. 
Intelligence,  in  a  creature  of  routine  like  man  and  in  a  universe  so  ill  under- 
stood as  ours,  must  often  break  valiantly  with  the  past  in  order  to  get  ahead. 
It  would  be  pleasant  to  assume  that  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  build  on  well- 
designed  foundations,  firmly  laid  by  the  wisdom  of  the  ages.  But  those  who 
have  studied  the  history  of  natural  science  would  agree  that  Bacon,  Galileo, 
and  Descartes  found  no  such  foundation,  but  had  to  begin  their  construction 
from  the  ground  up." 


THINKING  TOGETHER  329 

Bolution  lend  themselves  to  laboratory  experiment.  In  social  mat- 
ters, on  the  other  hand,  we  are  dealing  with  human  beings  who  have 
wills  of  their  own  and  who  must  consent  to  what  is  proposed  to 
them.  If  the  chemist  or  physicist  makes  a  mistake  in  his  calcula- 
tions and  finds  it  necessary  to  correct  his  hypothesis,  no  great  harm 
is  done.  In  spite  of  this,  prejudice  is  not  unknown,  and  the  spirit 
of  co-operation  has  to  make  its  way  against  obstacles.  In  our 
study  of  man's  social  relationships  these  obstacles  are  immeasur- 
ably greater.  This  is  a  field  in  which  personal  interests  are  affected. 
A  miscalculation  may  bring  sorrow  and  misery  to  multitudes.  It 
is  not  strange  that  men's  minds  should  move  more  slowly  here 
and  that  prejudice  should  be  harder  to  overcome. 

We  may  illustrate  this  in  connection  with  our  social  and  indus- 
trial problems.  Much  of  the  resistance  to  progress  in  our  day  is 
due  to  personal  selfishness,  the  resolute  determination  to  hold  what 
one  has  at  any  cost.  But  much  of  it  is  due  to  honest  doubt  as  to 
whether  the  changes  proposed  will  really  be  for  the  better.  With 
this  doubt,  reinforcing  and  dignifying  it,  goes  the  sense  of  respon- 
sibility for  the  human  values  which  may  be  imperilled  if  any  mis- 
take be  made,  values  cherished  not  for  ourselves  alone,  but  for 
other  lives  as  well.  This  fear  of  change  has  its  evil  consequences 
against  which  we  must  always  be  on  our  guard,  but  it  has  often 
proved  a  useful  balance-wheel.  It  has  held  society  steady  when 
some  untried  theory  has  been  proposed  as  a  new  Gospel  of  sal- 
vation, and  it  has  forced  the  advocates  of  change  to  justify  their 
claim  by  winning  the  consent  of  those  who  must  pay  the  price  of 
the  experiment. 

In  religion  we  face  the  ultimate  realities  and  define  our  relation 
to  the  supreme  values.  We  can  afford,  least  of  all,  to  make  mis- 
takes here.  Here,  therefore,  we  find  ourselves  most  hesitant  to 
venture  into  unknown  fields.  In  religion  the  problem  of  difference 
becomes  most  acute,  and  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  unity  seem 
most  difficult  to  overcome.  To  the  natural  preference  of  each  for 
his  own  way,  to  the  ever  present  obstacles  of  inertia  and  prejudice 
are  added  nobler  motives,  the  sense  of  fellowship  with  martyrs 
and  saints  in  the  past,  the  consciousness  of  responsibility  for  hand- 
ing down  to  the  future  the  truth  and  grace  entrusted  to  us  by  God. 

But  if  religion  accentuates  our  diflBculties  it  helps  us  to  deal 
with  them.  Religion  lives  by  faith,  and  faith  furnishes  the  atmos- 
phere in  which  differences  may  be  most  helpfully  approached.    The 


330  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

triumphs  of  science  have  been  possible  because  those  who  have 
studied  science  have  believed  that  success  was  attainable.  No  num- 
ber of  past  failures  has  been  able  to  shake  the  student's  faith  that 
the  next  experiment  might  succeed.  The  spirit  in  which  our  human 
problems  have  been  approached  has  too  often  been  the  very  oppo- 
site. We  have  been  content  with  half  measures  and  compromises 
because  it  was  too  hard  to  believe  that  anything  better  was  possible. 
We  have  made  the  past  the  measure  of  the  future  and  met  each 
proposal  for  a  forward  step  in  church  or  state  with  the  sweeping 
assertion  that  it  is  impossible  to  change  human  nature.  Because 
man  has  sinned  and  blundered  in  the  past  therefore  he  must  always 
continue  to  blunder  and  sin.  Because  he  has  lacked  faith  in  the 
past,  therefore  he  must  always  continue  faithless.  That  which 
blocks  progress  at  every  point  is  fear  born  of  unbelief.  No  diag- 
nosis of  our  present  social  ills  is  complete  which  does  not  recognize 
man's  distrust  of  his  fellow-man.  Why  will  not  capital  do  the 
obvious  thing  for  labor?  Because  capital  does  not  trust  labor. 
Why  does  labor  pursue  its  short-sighted  and  selfish  policy?  Be- 
cause labor  fears  that  if  it  do  otherwise  capital  will  take  some 
advantage.  Why  does  not  France  disarm?  Because  France  fears 
what  Germany  will  do,  and  so  with  all  the  other  nations.  From 
this  impasse  we  can  escape  only  by  the  way  of  faith.  If  we  are  to 
go  forward  it  can  only  be  as  we  are  willing  to  help  one  another  to 
live  the  better  life.  For  this  we  must  trust  one  another  and  wish 
one  another  well.  Religion  makes  possible  this  mutual  sympathy 
and  goodwill.  It  shows  us  the  unrealized  capacities  of  our  fellows 
and  interests  us  in  their  progress  and  welfare. 

Of  all  men,  therefore,  religious  people  ought  to  be  most  willing 
to  open  their  minds  to  new  light  and  to  approach  life's  tasks  and 
problems  together.  The  habit  of  thinking  together,  to  be  sure, 
will  not  of  itself  put  an  end  to  difference.  Indeed  it  may  well 
accentuate  it.  But  it  will  give  difference  a  new  significance.  It 
will  put  it  in  the  right  place.  Men  are  often  divided  by  unreal 
differences.  They  hold  aloof  from  those  with  whom  they  are  really 
in  sympathy  and  try  to  work  with  those  who,  at  heart,  care  little 
for  what  they  value  most.  Contact  will  dispel  these  misunder- 
standings. It  will  bring  those  together  who  belong  together.  It 
will  join  conflict  on  real  issues. 

Not  only  will  the  right  attitude  help  to  limit  the  number  of  our 
differences  to  those  which  have  real  significance;  it  will  show  us 


THINKING  TOGETHER  331 

how  to  deal  with  those  which  remain.  Perceiving  the  causes  which 
have  produced  our  differences  we  shall  be  able  to  treat  them  more 
intelligently.  We  shall  understand  even  where  we  cannot  approve. 
We  shall  sympathize  even  where  we  cannot  agree.  Where  a  plain 
moral  issue  of  right  and  wrong  is  presented,  we  shall  meet  it  with 
the  courage  that  is  born  of  a  knowledge  of  the  facts. 

Thinking  together,  we  must  never  forget,  does  not  necessarily 
mean  thinking  alike.  One  of  the  most  valuable  lessons  a  man  can 
learn  is  how  to  differ  without  loss  of  respect.  For  the  Church  this 
lesson  is  of  fundamental  importance;  for  it  is  the  indispensable 
condition  of  any  real  progress  toward  a  united  Church.  The  first 
step  toward  Christian  unity  must  be  taken  within,  and  this  involves 
the  facing  of  differences  in  the  fraternal  spirit.  Whatever  may  be 
the  outcome  I  will  at  least  try  to  make  my  brother's  point  of  view 
my  own.  I  will  see  with  his  eyes  and  think  with  his  mind  and  feel 
with  his  heart  and  I  will  dare  to  believe  that  what  I  am  willing 
to  do  for  him  he  will  be  willing  to  do  for  me.  Where  this  attitude 
prevails  unity  may  not  at  once  be  possible,  but  diversity  will  be 
robbed  of  danger. 

This  applies  to  the  theological  differences  which  separate 
Christians.  They  are  not  unimportant  .or  negligible.  We  deceive 
ourselves  if  we  pretend  they  are.  They  have  deep  roots  in  human 
nature  and  testify  to  realities  which  cannot  be  ignored.  Whether 
God  reveals  Himself  gradually  and  through  natural  means,  as  the 
new  theology  maintains,  or  instantly  by  miraculous  means,  as  is 
believed  by  advocates  of  the  older  view,  is  not  a  scholastic  ques- 
tion. Practical  issues  of  large  signific<ince  hang  on  the  decision. 
But  of  one  thing  we  may  be  sure,  that  if  we  are  to  make  progress 
in  the  right  direction  it  will  be  by  trying  with  all  our  might  to 
understand  what  can  be  said  for  the  position  we  do  not  hold.  It 
may  be  that  neither  of  us  has  grasped  the  full  truth.  It  may  be 
that  some  new  synthesis  can  be  found  that  will  make  place  for  the 
truth  of  both.  In  the  meantime  let  us  rejoice  in  that  which  we  hold 
in  common — our  mutual  faith  in  the  good  God  whom  Christ  reveals. 

Our  differences  as  to  the  nature  of  the  Church,  too,  are  far  from 
negligible  and  we  should  be  foolish  to  minimize  them.  'It  is  not 
easy  to  over-estimate  the  contrast  between  the  independent  who 
distrusts  all  organization  and  finds  his  ultimate  social  unit  in  the 
free  spirit  which  responds  individually  to  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
the  high  churchman  to  whom  the  institution  as  such  is  God's  organ 


332  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

of  revelation  and  the  sacrament  is  the  very  heart  of  religion.  But 
these  differences,  also,  can  be  approached  in  an  attitude  of  faith 
and  goodwill.  We  must  pay  to  the  man  from  whom  we  differ  the 
respect  that  we  ask  for  ourselves.  We  must  believe  that  God  may 
speak  to  him  as  truly  as  He  speaks  to  us,  even  if  in  language 
strange  to  our  ears.  We  must  learn  to  understand  what  worship 
means  to  him  and  to  feel  toward  it  as  he  feels.  We  may  find  to 
our  surprise  that  he  has  discovered  something  precious  that  we 
have  overlooked.  This  much  is  certain;  if  we  are  to  share  with 
him  the  insights  we  have  received  from  God,  it  can  only  be  through 
some  point  of  contact  won  in  this  way. 

The  opportunity  for  such  contact  the  Church  should  provide.  It 
should  be  a  school  for  co-operative  thinking  in  which  mind  meets 
mind  in  a  common  quest  of  truth. 

2.    What  It  Means  to  Think  Together — Fields  in  Which 
Co-operative  Thinking  Is  Needed  in  the  Church 

What,  then,  are  the  conditions  of  successful  co-operative  think- 
ing? They  are  many,  but  two  are  indispensable — time  and  con- 
tact. Under  the  conditions  of  our  American  life  they  seem  almost 
impossible  to  secure. 

Fruitful  thought  requires  concentration.  The  mind  must  be 
free  from  the  pressure  of  conflicting  interests,  and  to  attain  this  a 
busy  man  requires  more  than  ordinary  resolution.  We  must  re- 
alize that  to  make  room  for  thinking  is  so  important  that  it  is 
worth  a  sacrifice.  A  distinguished  Frenchman  was  asked  to  give 
his  impression  of  our  American  universities.  "You  Americans,"  he 
said,  "respect  scholarship;  but  you  do  not  respect  the  conditions  of 
scholarship."  We  like  the  results  of  thought,  but  we  are  too  busy 
doing  things  to  pay  the  price  of  thought. 

This  preoccupation  with  doing  strikes  an  observer  from  the 
older  world  as  one  of  the  characteristic  features  of  American  life. 
Speed  seems  to  us  the  thing  supremely  important.  We  are  always 
hurrying,  and  if  anyone  can  tell  us  how  we  can  go  faster  still,  we 
are  eager  to  follow  him.  Quantity  rather  than  quality  of  output 
is  the  aim  of  our  manufactories.  Too  often  it  seems  our  ideal  in 
the  Church. 

We  have  said  that  we  are  too  busy  to  think.  This  is  not  quite 
true.    We  are  not  too  busy  to  think  about  methods — at  least  within 


THINKING  TOGETHER  333 

certain  limits.  If  anyone  can  invent  a  labor-saving  machine  we 
are  eager  to  hear  about  it,  and  will  scrap  any  amount  of  old  ma- 
chinery to  install  it.  But  the  question  whether  the  thing  we  are 
doing  is  really  worth  while;  whether  the  product  we  manufacture 
serves  a  useful  end;  whether  it  would  not  be  better  in  the  long  run 
if  we  directed  our  energy  to  some  altogether  different  occupation: 
for  such  questions  as  these,  we  have  little  time.  Indeed,  there  are 
many  of  us  who  seem  scarcely  to  suspect  that  these  questions 
exist. 

This  lack  of  proper  forethought  explains  the  incredible  waste  of 
American  life.  We  see  it  in  the  relation  of  capital  and  labor. 
Labor  turnover  is  one  of  the  biggest  items  in  the  modern  employer's 
balance-sheet.  Industrial  unrest  with  its  resulting  unemployment 
and  stagnation  of  industry  is  responsible  for 'vast  sums  every  year. 
Yet  only  recently  have  employers  begun  to  realize  that  there  are 
human  factors  to  be  taken  into  account  which  need  to  be  studied 
with  as  much  care  and  attention  as  the  scientists  study  the  laws 
of  motion.  Fewer  still  have  time  for  the  bigger  questions  which 
concern  the  industry  as  a  whole — time  to  ask  themselves  what  is  the 
use  of  their  business  to  society,  what  its  relation  to  other  industries 
as  part  of  the  complex  social  machine  that  serves  the  nation  and 
mankind. 

More  tragic  than  the  waste  of  economic  resources  is  the  waste 
of  those  priceless  treasures — faith  and  goodwill.  There  are  infinite 
stores  of  these  in  human  nature.  They  reappear  in  every  new  gen- 
eration of  children.  The  disposition  to  think  well  of  life  and  to 
hope  for*the  best — how  hard  it  dies  in  these  prospective  citizens  and 
Christians.  How  quickly  it  responds  to  friendly  treatment.  How 
easy  it  would  be  to  translate  it  into  social  service,  if  our  existing 
institutions  were  not  built  upon  a  different  philosophy  and  did  not 
ruthlessly  contradict  the  idealism  which  the  child  is  taught  in 
school. 

A  well-known  I.  W.  W.  agitator  thus  explained  the  method  of 
his  propaganda.  He  would  gather  a  number  of  men  in  some  logging 
camp  in  Washington  or  Oregon  and  talk  of  the  common  things  they 
saw  about  them  every  day.  "You  meet  a  lame  dog,"  he  would 
say,  "and  are  sorry  for  him.  You  see  a  man  abusing  a  valuable 
horse  and  it  makes  you  angry.  Yet  you  pass  a  suffering  woman  or 
a  crying  child  and  it  never  occurs  to  you  to  do  anything  to  help. 
You  take  such  things  for  granted  as  part  of  the  order  of  things. 


334  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

How  do  you  account  for  this?  How  has  it  come  about  that  the 
pity  which  we  instinctively  feel  for  suffering  animals  is  so  often 
absent  where  human  suffering  is  concerned?  It  is  because  of  our 
unnatural  social  -order.  We  .have  been  trained  to  be  indifferent  to 
our  fellow-men  and  this  training  has  inhibited  our  natural  impulses 
of  kindliness  and  friendliness."  This  method  of  approach,  he 
declared,  had  never  failed  to  win  him  the  sympathy  of  his  auditors. 

There  is  a  clue  here  which  is  worth  following  by  others.  There 
are  stores  of  faith  and  goodwill  in  the  average  man  which  are 
available  for  our  use;  but  we  are  too  busy  running  the  machine 
in  the  way  it  has  always  been  run  to  ask  ourselves  whether 
there  is  not  a  better  way.  Only  recently  have  people  begun  to 
wake  up  to  the  folly  of  this  procedure  and  to  ask  themselves 
seriously  whether  there  is  not  some  way  of  testing  modern  methods 
in  business  and  politics  by  Christian  standards. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  signs  of  the  times  is  the  awakening 
of  modern  business  men  to  the  losses  they  have  sustained  because 
they  have  made  no  proper  provision  for  systematic  study.  Many 
of  them  are  reorganizing  their  personnel  so  as  to  leave  some  of  the 
staff  free  for  travel  and  research.  They  are  turning  to  the  colleges 
for  help  where  expert  advice  is  needed.  They  are  doing  this  not 
simply  in  technical  matters  of  finance  and  invention,  but  in  con- 
nection with  that  more  subtle  and  difficult  factor  in  industry,  the 
men  and  women  who  work.  Recently  a  large  employer  com- 
missioned two  college  professors  to  give  a  year  of  study  to  the 
methods  of  labor  adjustment  used  in  certain  large  plants  in  which 
he  was  interested.  This  is  typical  of  the  new  spirit  in  industry; 
the  spirit  that  seeks  to  realize  problems  as  a  whole,  and  is  ready 
to  take  the  time  which  is  necessary. 

How  much  more  essential  is  such  study  in  an  enterprise  as  com- 
plex as  the  Christian  Church!  For  here  we  are  dealing  with  man 
not  simply  as  a  factor  in  industry  but  in  all  the  complicated  rela- 
tionships that  make  up  his  life  in  society.  We  are  trying  to  form 
standards  for  judging  our  conduct  and  the  methods  proposed  to 
improve  it.  This  is  not  work  for  any  single  individual,  or  number 
of  isolated  individuals.  It  must  be  done  by  all  of  us  working 
together. 

With  time  must  go  contact.  We  must  not  only  take  time  to 
think  ourselves;  we  must  take  time  to  know  what  other  people  are 
thinking.    We  have  been  recently  reminded  of  the  significance  of 


THINKING  TOGETHER  335 

the  group  for  the  formation  of  opinion.^  Discussion  carried  on  with 
an  open  mind  reveals  unsuspected  possibilities.  A  result  reached 
through  conference  is  different  and  usually  much  better  than  a 
result  reached  through  the  same  amount  of  effort  on  the  part  of 
individual  members  of  a  group  working  separately.  Such  progress 
as  we  have  already  made  in  practical  co-operation  has  been  made 
possible  by  group  thinking.  But  we  should  have  more  of  it,  and 
for  this  we  need  to  multiply  our  opportunities  of  contact. 

Such  group  thinking,  to  be  sure,  will  not  render  individual 
initiative  any  less  necessary,  but  it  will  furnish  the  impulse  which 
sets  the  gifted  individual  thinking.  "Imagination,"  it  has  been  said, 
"is  not  a  group  quality,"  but  the  contact  of  mind  with  mind  which 
the  group  makes  possible  starts  processes  of  thought  which  may 
ripen  in  lonely  hours  when  the  other  members  of  the  group  are 
far  away. 

One  sometimes  wonders  what  test  Jesus  would  use  to-day  if  IJe 
were  to  enter  our  modern  world  with  His  words,  "Follow  me." 
In  speaking  to  our  young  men  what  would  He  substitute  for  "Go, 
sell  all  that  thou  hast?"  We  do  not  know.  But  one  thing  we 
are  sure  He  would  say:  "Be  willing  to  talk  to  your  neighbor. 
Remember  that  he  is  a  fellow-man  with  personal  interests  at  stake 
in  the  issue  between  you.  Recognize  those  interests  in  your  attitude 
toward  him.  Before  you  decide  against  him  hear  what  he  has  to 
say."  What  incalculable  harm  would  have  been  saved  the  world 
if  this  principle  had  been  acted  upon.  How  many  wars,  industrial 
as  well  as  international,  might  have  been  avoided,  if  considerations 
of  prestige  had  not  prevented  the  principals  from  meeting  face  to 
face  while  there  was  yet  time. 

Our  business  men  are  recognizing  that  a  change  is  needed.  Some 
are  beginning  to  abandon  the  autocratic  methods  which  have  hith- 
erto prevailed  in  their  industries  and  to  provide  for  group  discus- 
sion between  management  and  workmen.  They  are  taking  their 
employees  into  their  confidence  and  trying  to  create  a  group  morale 
which  will  give  those  who  work  a  sense  of  partnership  in  the  enter- 
prise. A  large  concern  engaged  in  international  banking  recently 
at  great  expense  brought  to  New  York  all  its  foreign  representatives 
for  a  week's  conference  on  the  business  for  the  purpose  of  removing 
possible  misunderstanding  and  securing  unity  of  spirit  in  the  con- 

'Cf.  Follett,  "The  New  State:  Group  Organization  the  Solution  of  Popular 
Government,"  New  York,  1920. 


336  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

duct  of  the  business  as  a  whole.  The  same  motive  underlies  the 
movement  for  the  democratic  control  of  industry,  whether  in  its 
more  conservative  form  of  shop  councils  or  the  more  radical  plans 
which  involve  profit  sharing  or  some  other  method  of  the  employees' 
participation  in  management. 

A  similar  movement  is  apparent  in  international  affairs.  We  are 
coming  to  see  that  there  are  only  two  ways  of  settling  differences 
between  nations,  war  or  conference,  and  the  best  brains  of  all  the 
different  peoples  are  now  engaged  in  finding  some  way  in  which  the 
second  method  may  become  a  part  of  our  accepted  international 
procedure. 

In  the  Church,  too,  we  need  to  multiply  our  opportunities  of 
group  contact.  We  need  such  contact  between  the  leaders  to  secure 
agreement  in  policy.  We  need  contact  all  along  the  line  to  make 
sure  that  the  results  reached  by  the  leaders  are  understood  and 
approved  by  those  whom  they  represent. 

It  may  be  said  that  in  our  higher  institutions  of  learning  the 
Church  is  already  provided  with  all  the  needed  facilities  for  co- 
operative thinking.  Our  universities  and  theological  seminaries 
ought  to  be  the  places  where  group  thinking  about  social  and  reli- 
gious questions  is  carried  on  most  effectively,  to  which,  therefore, 
we  should  look  for  guidance  in  the  solution  of  difficult  church  prob- 
lems. They  are  in  fact  doing  much  to  help  us,  for  which  we  are 
thankful.  But  even  our  universities  have  not  wholly  resisted  the 
American  tendency  to  measure  results  by  quantity  rather  than 
quality.  They  have  yielded  to  the  prevailing  cult  of  the  specialist, 
dividing  department  from  department,  and  making  each  supreme 
in  its  own  sphere.  In  the  physical  sciences,  to  be  sure,  a  large  share 
of  co-operation  has  been  realized,  but  the  social  and  political  sci- 
ences are  still  for  the  most  part  unorganized.  We  know  much  about 
many  things,  but  to  inquire  what  these  many  things  mean  and  how 
they  are  related  seems  to  be  no  one's  business.  Philosophy,  in  the 
old  sense  of  the  quest  of  wisdom,  has  been  dethroned  by  science  and 
the  correlation  of  knowledge  is  left  to  be  dealt  with  by  amateurs.^ 

Even  if  the  thinking  of  our  universities  and  seminaries  were 

better  organized,  it  would  still  remain  true  that  it  is  not  properly 

interpreted.    We  have  not  yet  devised  the  way  in  which  the  results 

of  the  best  thinking  in  the  humanities  can  be  made  practically  avail- 

*  Cf .  W.  Adams  Brown,  "The  Future  of  Philosophy  as  a  University  Study," 
The  Journal  of  Philosophy,  Vol.  XVIII,  December  8,  1921. 


THINKING  TOGETHER  337 

able  like  the  results  of  research  in  chemistry  and  physics.  The 
ordinary  man  grows  up  in  ignorance  of  many  of  the  things  he  most 
needs  to  know,  and  there  is  no  one  to  whom  he  can  turn  to  supply 
his  lack.  He  knows  a  little  about  many  things,  and  a  great  deal 
about  some  one  thing.  But  he  has  no  comprehensive  view  of  life 
as  a  whole,  and  there  seems  no  one  who  can  give  it  to  him.  The 
specialist  cannot  give  it  to  him  because  he  is  a  specialist.  The  ele- 
mentary teacher  cannot  give  it  to  him  because  he  does  not  know 
enough.  There  would  seem  to  be  need  of  a  new  profession,  that  of 
intellectual  correlator,  or  liaison  officer  in  the  realm  of  the  mind — 
the  man  who  assembles  the  results  of  the  specialist's  work  on  the 
subjects  of  living  human  interest  in  such  form  that  they  can  serve 
as  the  basis  for  general  education.^ 

In  religion  most  of  all  we  need  some  one  to  bridge  the  gap 
between  the  specialist,  whose  interest  lies  on  the  border-land  of  our 
knowledge,  and  the  uninformed  teacher,  to  whom  most  of  us  must 
look  for  instruction.  We  need  to  increase  the  number  of  those 
who  can  teach  teachers,  who  can  popularize  the  results  of  research. 

Such  correlation  of  knowledge  is  needed  not  simply  for  infor- 
mation and  general  culture;  it  is  needed  still  more  for  effective  ac- 
tion. In  a  particular  business  it  may  be  possible  to  overlook  this 
necessity  for  a  time,  because  the  interests  involved  are  special.  But 
those  who  are  concerned  with  personal  relationships,  as  is  the  case 
with  workers  in  state  or  church,  cannot  shut  their  eyes  to  the  larger 
whole  of  which  they  are  a  part.  Unless  each  of  the  smaller  units 
is  rightly  related  to  all  the  others,  they  cannot  succeed.  They  have 
a  vital  interest,  therefore,  in  bringing  about  such  mutual  under- 
standing between  the  different  persons  who  must  co-operate  that 
the  net  outcome  of  their  effort  will  be  for  the  common  good. 

This  need  of  entering  into  others'  thought  may  be  illustrated  in 
each  of  the  different  fields  which  we  have  been  studying.    It  may  be 

*Cf.  H.  G.  Wells,  "History  for  Everybody,"  Yale  Review,  July,  1921,  p. 
676:  "The  modern  community  has  yet  to  develop  a  type  of  teacher  with 
the  freedom  and  leisure  to  make  a  thorough  and  continuous  study  of  con- 
temporary historical  and  other  scientific  knowledge  in  order  to  use  these 
accumulations  to  the  best  effect  in  general  education."  Such  a  task  Mr. 
Wells  has  attempted  in  his  "Outline  of  History,"  and  whether  he  has  suc- 
ceeded or  not,  no  one  can  deny  that  he  has  tried  to  do  a  thing  which  needs 
to  be  done.  On  the  difficulty  of  gaining  accurate  knowledge  on  contemporary 
affairs  and  the  resulting  danger  to  society,  cf.  Walter  Lippmann,  "Public 
Opinion,"  New  York,  1922. 


338  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

illustrated  in  the  local  community.  The  diflSculty  with  so  many 
congregations  that  are  living  at  a  poor  dying  rate  is  that  their  mem- 
bers have  never  been  able  to  form  the  habit  of  thinking  of  anything 
but  themselves.  They  do  what  they  are  doing  because  it  is  the 
thing  they  have  always  been  in  the  habit  of  doing.  It  does  not  seem 
strange  to  them  that  there  should  be  a  Presbyterian,  a  Methodist, 
and  a  Baptist  Church  standing  side  by  side  in  a  community  which 
has  only  people  enough  to  support  one  vigorous  church,  because  so 
far  as  they  can  remember  there  always  have  been  three  churches 
there.  It  is  not  that  their  wills  are  perverse  but  that  their  minds  are 
limited.  They  need  to  rub  up  against  their  neighbors.  They  re- 
quire to  be  converted  to  the  conamunity  spirit.  When  once  they 
have  formed  the  habit  of  thinking  together,  nine-tenths  of  their 
diflEiculties  will  disappear  and  they  will  be  surprised  to  find  how 
much  better  off  everybody  is  under  a  co-operative  than  under  a 
competitive  system. 

What  is  true  of  the  local  congregation  is  true  of  the  Church  as  a 
whole.  Its  members  need  to  learn  what  their  fellow-Christians  are 
thinking.  In  important  phases  of  the  Church's  life  this  lesson  is 
rapidly  being  learned.  It  is  being  learned  in  the  field  of  missions. 
In  the  work  that  Methodists  or  Presbyterians  are  doing  for  India 
or  China,  they  are  conscious  of  a  corporate  responsibility  which 
lifts  them  above  their  provincialism  and  makes  them  in  a  true  sense 
citizens  of  the  world.  The  same  is  true  in  increasing  degree  of  the 
men  and  women  at  work  in  the  home  field;  but  their  influence 
reaches  only  a  part  of  the  church  membership.  In  all  our  denomi- 
nations there  are  multitudes  who  are  still  living  without  the  larger 
vision.  They  need  to  be  shaken  out  of  their  self-sufficiency  and 
made  to  realize  the  larger  whole  of  which  they  are  a  part.  The 
corporate  consciousness  which  so  largely  dominates  our  missionary 
activity  must  become  part  and  parcel  of  the  life  of  the  Church  as 
a  whole. 

Most  of  all,  understanding  is  needed  among  leaders.  They  are 
dealing  with  great  interests  and  they  need  all  the  help  they  can 
get.  This  help  can  come  only  through  co-operation  as  they  pool 
their  resources  of  insight  and  knowledge  and  make  provision  for  a 
collective  attack  upon  the  problems  that  remain. 

But  for  this  organization  is  necessary.  What,  if  anything,  can 
be  done  here? 


THINKING  TOGETHER  339 

3.   Wanted:  an  Organ  for  Collective  Thinking  for  the 
Church  as  a  Whole 

In  a  recent  number  of  the  New  Republic,  Walter  Lippmann 
reviews  a  book  by  a  Frenchman  named  Pierrefeu  on  the  French 
high  command.  He  points  out  that  the  significance  of  the  book 
lies  in  the  fact  that  it  shows  the  extraordinary  part  theory  played 
in  the  conduct  of  the  war.  "One  conclusion,"  he  writes,  "is  fairly 
plain.  It  took  nearly  three  years  for  the  French  General  Staff  to 
understand  the  character  of  the  war  it  was  fighting.  .  .  .  We  are 
almost  justified  in  saying  that  the  long  deadlock  in  the  West  was 
in  the  last  analysis  a  time  in  which  both  commands  were  vainly 
trying  to  conceive  the  war.  The  soldiers  held  while  the  generals 
thought;  the  soldiers  wasted  themselves  in  fruitless  attack  while 
the  staffs  painfully  searched  for  the  right  method  of  attack."  ^ 

It  is  a  picture  of  what  is  going  on  in  the  Church.  The  soldiers 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  privates  in  their  several  parishes  scattered  all 
over  the  land,  are  wasting  themselves  in  fruitless  attacks  because 
their  leaders  have  not  yet  found  the  right  method  of  attack.  One 
reason  why  they  have  not  found  it  is  because  they  are  not  looking 
for  it  together.  The  Church  needs  a  unified  leadership  such  as  is 
furnished  to  the  army  by  the  general  staff. 

What  is  the  general  staff?  It  is  a  committee  for  continuous 
collective  thinking.  The  staff  is  a  group  of  men  taken  from  the  line 
or,  in  other  words,  the  men  actively  at  work  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  the  army — infantry,  artillery,  cavalry,  and  engineers — to 
think  for  the  whole.  They  are  to  the  army  what  the  brain  is  to  the 
individual,  the  centre  from  which  the  whole  nervous  system  radiates, 
the  co-ordinating  machinery.  Their  business  is  to  see  things  in 
relation  and  perspective,  to  test  what  is  being  done,  not  only  by  the 
technical  standards  which  prevail  in  this  or  that  particular  branch 
of  the  service,  but  by  its  usefulness  for  all.  They  look  forward  and 
back,  studying  the  history  of  past  wars,  forecasting  the  possibility 
of  future  wars,  planning  what  can  be  done  with  the  resources  avail- 
able to  increase  the  strength  of  the  army  either  for  offence  or  de- 
fense. They  draw  their  recruits  from  men  of  practical  experience, 
taking  them  from  all  arms  of  the  service  alike.    They  send  them 

*Cf.  New  Republic,  January  19,  1921. 


340  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

back  from  time  to  time  to  refresh  themselves  with  new  experience. 
Individuals  may  change.  The  group  remains,  thinking  for  the 
whole,  studying  the  things  that  need  to  be  studied,  sharing  with  the 
men  who  must  execute  the  wider  knowledge  that  is  necessary  to 
make  action  in  any  particular  field  a  success. 

Without  such  a  staff  the  army  could  not  function  as  a  whole.  Its 
success  depends  in  the  last  analysis  not  upon  the  number  of  men  it 
contains  nor  the  amount  of  munitions  at  its  disposal,  nor  even  the 
resources  in  men  and  money  which  it  can  command,  but  on  its 
ability  to  use  these  at  the  time  and  place  where  they  are  needed. 
No  preconceived  idea  of  what  each  arm  of  the  service  is  fitted  to  do, 
or  the  proper  method  of  using  cavalry  or  artillery  as  they  have  been 
used  in  the  past,  must  divert  the  commander  from  his  main  objec- 
tive, which  is  to  defeat  the  enemy.  Marshal  Foch,  in  his  book  on 
the  "Principles  of  War,"  ^  has  expressed  this  truth  in  the  formula 
of  the  economy  of  forces — the  formula  which  shows  how  each  part, 
by  timely  combination  with  the  others,  may  be  made  to  multiply  its 
own  effectiveness  many  fold. 

What  is  true  of  the  battles  of  war,  technically  so-called,  is 
equally  true  of  the  spiritual  struggle  which  is  going  on  all  the  time. 
That  side  will  win  which  is  able  to  concentrate  its  forces  most  com- 
pletely at  the  point  where  the  contest  is  most  severe.  In  his  sug- 
gestive book,  "Democracy  after  the  War,"  ^  Professor  Hobson  points 
out  how  the  vast  spiritual  energies  which  are  going  into  the  struggle 
for  a  better  world  are  neutralized  and  thwarted  by  the  fact  that 
these  energies  are  divided.  Each  group  is  working  at  its  pet  interest 
as  if  it  were  the  whole,  and  because  there  is  no  unified  leadership 
positions  of  fundamental  strategic  importance  are  lost  for  lack  of 
the  help  which  others  might  easily  have  given.  If  we  would  work 
together  effectively  we  must  first  learn  to  think  together. 

An  impressive  plea  for  such  united  leadership  in  the  Church  has 
been  made  by  Earl  Haig.^ 

"I  have  seen  in  my  own  sphere  of  activity  the  working  of  a 
General  Staff.  I  understand  how,  without  interfering  with  the  dis- 
cretion of  those  on  the  spot  in  matters  that  concern  them  and  them 

*  New  York,  1918,  pp.  48  sq. 

'London,   1918.     Cf.  esp.  pp.   145-161. 

'Cf.  extracts  from  his  address  to  Scottish  churches  given  in  Professor 
Curtis'  suggestive  article  in  the  Hibbert  Journal  on  "A  League  of  Churches," 
January,  1921. 


THINKING  TOGETHER  341 

only,  it  is  yet  able  to  give  singleness  of  purpose  to  diversified 
operations  in  many  theatres,  ...  yet  more  particularly,  how  it  is 
able  to  instil  life,  energy,  resolution,  and  drive  into  the  actions  of 
all,  inspiring  all  with  the  feeling  that  they  are  working  to  a  common 
end,  that  their  efforts  are  interdependent,  their  failure  involving 
more  than  their  own  ruin,  and  their  success  guaranteeing  the  victory 
of  others.  I  want  to  see  established  a  General  Staff  for  the  Chris- 
tian churches  of  the  Empire,  some  body  at  least  analogous  in  the 
ecclesiastical  sphere  to  the  position  held  by  the  Imperial  General 
Staff  in  the  military  organization  of  the  Empire.  There  need  be  no 
interference  in  the  internal  economy  of  the  churches,  whether  on 
their  spiritual  or  their  temporal  side.  What  it  seems  to  me  is 
needed  at  once  is  a  strong  representative  body,  not  too  large  for 
energetic  action,  which  can  direct  the  general  policy  of  the  churches, 
infuse  them  with  new  energy,  and  strengthen  their  resolution  in  the 
great  crusade  of  brotherhood,  on  the  long  road  on  which  the  war 
has  set  our  feet.  This  central  body  must  proceed  to  the  further 
development  of  an  organization  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  Empire. 
We  are  entering,  we  hope,  upon  an  era  of  peace,  bought  by  vast 
sacrifices.  The  object  of  every  one  of  us  is  to  make  that  peace 
secure  and  permanent.  To  my  mind,  the  one  means  by  which  that 
end  can  be  achieved  is  to  develop — not  merely  in  Scotland  and 
England,  but  throughout  the  whole  of  the  British  Empire  and  the 
whole  world — the  spirit  of  brotherhood  born  of  war.  For  that  great 
work  we  need  the  active  help  of  a  strong,  vigorous,  national  Church 
— a  Church  which  has  risen  superior  to  the  forces  of  disruption,  and 
is  itself  a  living  embodiment  of  the  principles  of  fellowship  and 
unity."  ^ 

But  the  example  of  the  army  can  be  followed  only  in  part  by 
the  Church.  The  staff  is  not  only  an  organization  for  collective 
thinking;  it  is  also  the  official  adviser  of  the  responsible  executive 
head  of  the  army.  Such  concentration  of  power  is  not  possible  in 
the  Protestant  Church.  Rome  can  command  the  kind  of  leadership 
found  in  the  army  because  it  has  embodied  in  its  constitution  the 
principle  of  external  authority.  Our  Protestant  ideal  is  different. 
The  only  leadership  possible  for  us  is  group  leadership.  We  must 
assemble  our  leaders  from  different  branches  of  the  Church,  and 
they  must  rely  for  their  influence  on  the  full  assent  of  those  to  whom 
their  counsel  comes. 

But  this  is  all  the  more  reason  why  we  need  to  assemble  them. 

*The  proposal  of  Earl  Haig  for  a  central  council  to  direct  the  thinking 
of  the  Church  in  its  international  relations  is  paralleled  by  the  plea  of  Pro- 
fessor Small  elsewhere  referred  to  for  a  central  body  to  advise  the  Church  in 
industrial  and  economic  matters.    Of.  p.  232. 


342  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

There  are  groups  thinking  to-day  in  many  different  places,  but  their 
thought  is  partial  and  unrelated.  We  need  to  unify  these  groups 
and  to  relate  them  one  to  another  so  that  those  who  are  now  work- 
ing independently  may  work  together  and  the  Church  as  a  whole 
may  make  its  impact  felt  upon  the  world  as  a  whole. 

It  may  be  objected  that  we  have  too  much  organization  as  it  is. 
Committee  succeeds  committee  in  interminable  succession.  It  is 
so  in  the  denomination;  it  is  so  in  the  interdenominational  field. 
Most  of  all  it  is  true  in  the  field  of  religious  education.  Of  inter- 
denominational organizations  alone  we  have  no  less  than  fourteen 
which  have  to  do  with  religious  education.  It  would  seem  as  though 
our  trouble  were  too  much  organization  rather  than  too  little. 

Whether  we  have  too  many  organizations  the  present  writer  is 
not  prepared  to  say,  but  it  seems  clear  that  those  which  we  now 
have  are  not  functioning  as  effectively  as  they  might.  We  are  not 
getting  in  results  a  product  conunensurate  with  our  output.  The 
men  who  are  running  the  different  parts  of  the  machine  are  too  busy 
doing  so  to  take  time  to  find  out  how  the  whole  can  be  run  better. 
If  this  be  true  the  remedy  is  plain.  We  must  find  men  who  are 
willing  to  give  the  time  and  we  must  put  them  in  the  place  where 
they  can  work  together  effectively. 

There  are  two  ways  to  set  about  the  creation  of  such  a  central 
correlating  agency.  It  may  be  brought  about  through  the  voluntary 
action  of  individuals  or  it  may  be  made  an  integral  part  of  some 
one  of  the  existing  interdenominational  agencies. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  Conference  of  Theological 
Seminaries  as  an  organization  which  brings  together  many  of  the 
men  who  are  actively  carrying  on  research  in  the  various  problems 
concerning  the  Church's  life  and  work,  and  pointed  out  the  need  of 
taking  steps  to  correlate  their  work  so  that  it  may  bear  more 
directly  upon  the  needs  and  tasks  of  present-day  Christianity. 
This  is  but  one  of  many  groups  which  are  doing  similar  work  and 
present  a  similar  opportunity.  Most  of  the  different  educational 
agencies  of  which  we  have  spoken  are  doing  research  work,  some 
of  it  of  a  high  order.  Our  boards  of  home  and  foreign  missions  are 
doing  it,  as  well  as  the  interdenominational  agencies  through  which 
they  function.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Christian  Associations. 
From  the  men  and  women  engaged  in  these  various  enterprises  a 
voluntary  organization  might  be  formed  to  study  the  tasks  of  the 
Church  as  a  whole  and  to  give  their  conclusions  wide  publicity. 


THINKING  TOGETHER  343 

Such  a  method  of  procedure  would  have  much  to  commend  it. 
It  would  have  the  advantage  of  securing  the  utmost  freedom  and 
impartiality  on  the  part  of  those  who  took  part  in  it;  but  it  would 
have  the  disadvantage  of  all  voluntary  organizations.  It  would 
have  no  official  standing  in  quarters  where  its  influence  was  most 
needed.  It  would  be  difficult  to  secure  for  it  the  services  of  many 
of  those  whose  contribution  was  most  desirable.  If  inadequately 
financed,  it  would  be  hampered  in  its  work.  If  privately  financed 
on  an  adequate  scale,  like  the  great  foundations  in  the  field  of  edu- 
cation and  medicine,  it  would  lack  the  close  touch  with  the  organi- 
zations to  be  influenced,  which  would  be  the  case  if  it  drew  its 
resources  as  well  as  its  personnel  from  them. 

For  every  reason,  therefore,  it  would  seem  desirable  to  attach 
the  committee  to  some  existing  organization.  Such  a  point  of  con- 
tact might  be  found  either  in  the  Federal  Council  ^  or  in  the  pro- 
posed Council  of  Christian  Education.^  The  determination  of  this 
question  is  less  important  than  the  definition  of  the  function  of  the 
committee  and  its  right  relation  to  the  existing  agencies  of  collec- 
tive thinking  in  the  Church. 

Essential  to  the  success  of  such  a  committee  would  be  the  pro- 
vision that  it  should  have  no  executive  responsibility.  It  should 
be  purely  a  body  for  study  and  advice.  Apart  from  the  fact  that 
the  churches  would  be  unwilling  to  surrender  to  any  such  central 
body  the  powers  which  they  have  hitherto  exercised,  it  would  intro- 
duce a  disturbing  element  into  the  committee's  work.  Its  members 
would  become  so  much  interested  in  the  things  that  needed  to  be 
done  immediately  that  their  attention  would  be  diverted  from  the 
wider  outlook.  They  would  no  longer  be  a  strictly  impartial  body 
whose  duty  it  was  to  report  on  the  facts  as  they  found  them,  but 
the  executives  of  a  policy  which  other  parties  in  the  Church  would 
feel  they  must  oppose. 

Yet  though  the  work  of  the  committee  should  be  purely  advisory, 
it  should  none  the  less  be  concerned  with  matters  of  present  and 
vital  interest.  It  should  study  the  questions  proposed  to  it  as  they 
meet  us  in  the  existing  world  situation  and  bear  upon  the  tasks  of 

*The  Social  Service  Commission  is  not  the  only  commission  of  the  Federal 
Council  which  is  conducting  research.  Each  of  the  commissions  is  studying 
its  own  field  in  its  own  way,  but  the  work  they  are  doing  has  not  yet  been 
effectively  correlated.  Moreover,  each  can  spare  but  a  part  of  its  time  from 
other  duties. 

»Cf.  p.  242. 


344  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

the  present  Church.  The  conclusions  reached  should  be  verified  by 
all  available  experience  and  put  in  the  form  of  suggestions  which 
could  be  further  tested  in  practice.^ 

The  definition  of  its  task  would  determine  the  personnel  of  the 
committee.  It  should  include  not  only  official  representatives  of 
the  churches,  but  men  and  women  who  are  now  doing  constructive 
thinking  about  religion  in  every  sphere  of  life;  professors  should  be 
on  it,  and  men  of  business,  labor  leaders  and  scientists,  as  well  as 
ministers  and  church  officials — whoever  has  knowledge  of  the  mat- 
ters that  the  leaders  of  the  Church  need  to  know  or  judgment  which 
will  help  them  in  making  right  decisions.  Not  all  these  persons 
need  to  serve  continuously,  though  they  should  be  available  for  serv- 
ice when  needed.  But  there  should  be  a  permanent  executive  com- 
mittee to  give  continuity  to  their  work,  and  map  out  the  special 
tasks  to  which  they  are  to  be  assigned. 

This  central  conmiittee  should  be  in  touch  with  similar  com- 
mittees operating  on  a  smaller  scale  and  dealing  with  more  de- 
tached problems  than  can  be  handled  by  the  central  committee. 
Each  denomination  should  have  such  a  committee,  as  well  as  the 
Associations,  the  local  and  state  federations,  and  the  national  inter- 
denominational agencies.  They  should  be  available  for  whatever 
service  may  be  required  of  them,  within  the  local  community  as  in 
the  Church  at  large.  Does  a  serious  labor  dispute  break  out  in  a 
certain  industry?  There  should  be  a  competent  and  representative 
committee  of  the  Church  to  see  whether  any  moral  principles  are 
involved,  in  which  the  public  opinion  of  the  community  ought  to  be 
educated.  Is  there  a  race  riot,  as  at  Tulsa?  There  should  be  a 
similar  group  to  determine  how  far  the  churches  are  responsible  for 
the  existence  of  the  causes  which  led  to  it,  and  what  they  can  do 
to  remove  them. 

In  planning  the  work  of  such  a  group  of  committees  care  should 
be  taken  to  distinguish  two  different  kinds  of  work:  that  of  deter- 
mining principles,  and  that  of  applying  them  in  detail.    The  former 

*  A  suggestive  precedent  is  furnished  by  the  Committee  on  the  War  and 
the  Religious  Outlook  from  whose  studies  we  have  drawn  so  liberally  in  the 
preparation  of  this  volume.  This  committee  was  official  in  the  sense  that  it 
was  created  by  the  joint  action  of  the  Federal  Council  and  the  General  War- 
Time  Commission  of  the  Churches,  but  it  was  left  entirely  free  to  act  on  its 
own  initiative  in  its  choice  of  subjects  and  methods  of  work.  What  was  more 
important,  it  had  no  executive  responsibility  of  any  kind.  It  was  chosen  for 
one  purpose  and  for  one  alone,  to  do  collective  thinking. 


THINKING  TOGETHER  345 

should  be  the  task  of  the  central  committee;  the  latter  may  well  be 
left  to  those  on  the  ground  who  are  more  familiar  with  the  facts  to 
be  passed  on.^ 

The  need  of  such  a  central  committee  becomes  specially  appar- 
ent when  we  consider  those  larger  questions  of  race  and  nationality 
which  affect  all  branches  of  the  Church  alike.  On  world  problems 
the  whole  Church  must  learn  to  think  together,  for  the  problems 
which  confront  any  one  part  of  the  Church  confront  the  other  parts 
as  well,  and  only  unity  all  along  the  line  can  bring  success.  The 
case  of  disarmament  is  such  a  problem.  War,  as  we  have  seen  re- 
peatedly in  the  course  of  this  study,  is  the  result  of  causes  that  are 
often  remote  from  the  immediate  issue  and  sentiments  which  must 
be  dealt  with  at  the  source.  It  is  clear  that  in  a  question  of  this 
magnitude  and  complexity  no  one  branch  of  the  Church  alone  can 
do  what  needs  to  be  done.  All  the  churches  must  work  together  and 
together  create  the  common  sentiment  about  war  which  in  the  end 
will  make  it  impossible. 

In  this  spirit  of  world-wide  service  we  in  America  ought  to  ap- 
proach the  tasks  and  problems  of  our  own  home  church.  Nothing 
could  do  more  to  promote  the  cause  of  world  brotherhood  than  to 
see  the  churches  of  a  country  like  America  efifectively  organized 
for  national  service.  And  nowhere  could  this  organization  better 
begin  than  with  the  creation  of  such  a  central  committee  as  we 
have  briefly  sketched.  It  would  help  to  form  the  public  opinion 
which  would  shape  the  policy  of  all  the  constituent  churches.  It 
would  suggest  improvements  in  the  existing  organization  of  the 
churches,  and  make  it  easier  to  bring  them  about.  It  would  rein- 
force the  efforts  of  those  who  are  recruiting  for  Christian  service, 
by  helping  to  define  more  clearly  the  object  for  which  life  service 
is  asked.  Above  all,  by  bringing  to  clearer  expression  the  central 
loyalties  and  convictions  which  all  Christians  hold  in  common, 
it  would  help  to  fuse  the  many  minds  within  the  Church  into  a 
common  mind. 

*  An  example  of  the  more  detailed  study  needed  is  the  survey  of  St.  Louis 
recently  completed  by  the  Committee  on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys.  A 
similar  study  is  greatly  needed  for  New  York  City.  This  is  a  field  in  which 
every  kind  of  difficulty  is  to  be  met  with  and  success  is  possible  only  through 
the  most  intelligent  and  complete  co-operation.  Yet  it  is  a  field  in  which 
there  is  as  yet  not  only  no  adequate  co-operation  of  Christians,  but  no  com- 
plete marshalling  of  the  facts  we  need  to  know  in  order  to  make  such  co-opera- 
tion possible. 


CONCLUSION 
THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  DEMOCRACY  OF  THE  FUTURE 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  CONTRIBUTION   OF  THE  CHURCH  TO  THE  DEMOCRACY  OP 
THE    FUTURE  ^ 

1.    The  Spiritual  Significance  of  Organization  as  a  Challenge  to 

Christian  Citizenship  and  Churchmanship — Need  of  an 

International  Organization  to  Unify  Democracy 

We  have  reached  the  end  of  our  study.  It  remains  to  sum  up 
our  conclusions.  We  began  by  raising  two  questions:  first,  what 
modern  democratic  society  has  a  right  to  expect  of  the  Church; 
secondly,  what  reason  we  have  for  believing  that  this  just  expecta- 
tion will  be  realized.  We  are  ready  now  to  give  our  answer: 
Democracy  has  a  right  to  expect  of  the  Church  a  unifying  spiritual 
influence,  springing  from  a  common  faith,  and  issuing  in  common 
action.  Our  reason  for  believing  that  this  just  expectation  can  be 
realized  is  the  increasing  number  of  persons  who  accept  this  ideal 
of  the  Church's  function,  and  the  demonstration  which  they  have 
given  of  the  possibility  of  united  action  when  the  will  to  union 
exists.  But  whether  this  reasonable  hope  will  be  fully  realized  will 
depend  upon  what  we  who  belong  to  the  Church  of  to-day  do  to 
overcome  our  divisive  sentiments  and  habits  and  to  carry  to  com- 
pletion the  work  which  our  predecessors  have  begun. 

We  end  with  an  opportunity,  not  a  certainty.  Fulfilment  will 
not  come  of  itself.  There  is  a  condition  attached,  simple  in  prin- 
ciple but  infinitely  complex  in  its  application.  These  pages  have 
been  devoted  to  showing  what  that  condition  is.  It  is  the  whole' 
hearted  co-operation  of  all  those  who  have  felt  the  world's  need  of 
a  united  church  in  making  the  Church  what  we  know  it  ought  to  be. 

It  is  difficult  to  over-estimate  the  strength  of  this  appeal.  Every 
chapter  of  this  book  has  brought  its  cumulative  evidence  of  the 
magnitude  and  gravity  of  the  crisis  we  face.  We  are  standing  be- 
tween two  worlds — the  world  of  selfish  competition  whose  reliance 
is  only  on  force,  and  the  world  of  mutual  helpfulness  and  co-opera- 

*  A  few  sentences  in  this  chapter  have  been  taken  from  an  address  of  the 
author  entitled  "The  Contribution  of  the  Church  to  the  Democracy  of  the 
Future,"  Religious  Education,  October,  1918. 

349 


350  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

tion  which  appeals  to  reason  and  goodwill.  We  have  seen  the  out- 
come of  the  first  method  when  practised  on  a  world  scale  and  we 
dimly  foresee  possibilities  ahead  more  appalling  still.  The  second 
method,  successful  within  limited  groups,  has  still  to  be  tried  on  a 
world  scale.  There  are  many  who  fear  that,  if  tried,  it  cannot 
succeed.  There  are  a  few  who  for  their  own  reasons  do  not  wish  to 
have  it  tried. 

The  issue  is  all  the  more  serious  because  it  is  a  moral  issue.  It 
is  a  conflict  of  philosophies — rather,  shall  we  say,  a  conflict  of  reli- 
gions. Two  theories  of  world  organization  are  contending  for  the 
mastery:  the  soldier's  theory  and  the  teacher's  theory — the  theory 
that  would  unify  by  conquest,  working  from  without,  and  the  the- 
ory that  would  unify  by  consent,  working  from  within.  Between 
them  there  can  be  no  compromise;  in  the  end  one  or  the  other  must 
conquer. 

We  have  enlisted  on  the  side  of  democracy.  We  believe  that  the 
bond  which  is  permanently  to  unite  the  peoples  must  be  an  inner 
bond.  Against  the  forces  which  autocracy  commands,  there  is  only 
one  power  which  can  prevail,  and  that  is  the  power  of  an  ideal. 

The  difficulty  with  the  democratic  method  of  securing  unity 
lies  in  the  presence  of  ideals  that  conflict.  When  we  appeal  to  men 
on  the  basis  of  their  present  aspirations  we  find  these  aspirations 
working  for  division  rather  than  for  unity.  We  see  this  in  the  in- 
tensified group  consciousness  which  expresses  itself  in  the  desire  of 
different  bodies  of  men  to  break  away  from  the  larger  units  of  which 
they  form  a  part  and  to  live  their  own  lives  in  independence.  Where 
we  have  to  do  with  homogeneous  groups  within  the  same  territory 
we  may  hope  for  a  unity  which  is  consistent  with  freedom;  but 
when  men  of  different  race  or  class  are  living  side  by  side  the  prob- 
lem is  more  difficult.  Here  unity  is  possible  only  through  the  dis- 
covery of  some  ideal  more  inclusive  than  either  race  or  class,  some- 
thing which  makes  appeal  to  a  larger  faith  and  calls  forth  a  deeper 
loyalty. 

Such  an  ideal  is  citizenship.  The  nation  may  include  persons 
of  different  racial  stock  and  conflicting  economic  interests  who  are 
yet  one  in  loyalty  to  its  institutions  and  obedience  to  its  laws. 
Take  Switzerland,  for  example.  Switzerland  contains  elements,  on 
the  face  of  them,  most  unfavorable  to  unity.  Yet  its  national  life 
has  persisted  unbroken  for  centuries.    It  includes  races  as  antago- 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  DEMOCRACY  OF  THE  FUTURE     351 

nistic  as  the  French  and  the  Germans,  It  has  no  natural  economic 
unity,  no  obvious  geographical  boundary.  It  has  not  even  unity  of 
language.  Yet  it  has  stood  the  test  of  the  last  war  successfully, 
though  appealed  to  by  the  most  powerful  motives  from  either  side.^ 

Our  own  country  is  another  illustration.  All  the  different  coun- 
tries of  Europe  have  poured  their  streams  into  the  broad  sea  that 
is  America.  The  ancestors  of  the  men  who  fought  shoulder  to 
shoulder  at  Gettysburg  in  defence  of  the  Union  had  fought  one 
another  in  the  lands  from  which  they  came.  Yet  here  they  found 
something  which  made  them  spiritually  one.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  men  who  yesterday  were  fighting  with  us  in  France,  men  with 
names  that  we  find  it  hard  to  spell,  much  more  to  pronounce.  Poles 
and  Russians,  Czecho-Slovaks  and  Austrians,  enemies  at  home,  and 
still  separated  by  language,  tradition,  and  even  by  religion,  have 
become  fellow-citizens  in  the  United  States. 

It  is  clear  that  if  we  are  to  realize  our  hope  of  world  organiza- 
tion, we  must  discover  some  inner  principle  of  unity  that  will  do  for 
mankind  at  large  what  patriotism  does  for  individual  peoples.  It 
must  be  intimate  and  concrete,  operating  through  sentiments  and 
habits  as  well  as  through  reason;  for  reason  plays  a  very  modest 
part  among  the  factors  which  actually  influence  man.  It  must  be 
familiar  and  ancient,  growing  out  of  the  past,  which  does  not  need 
to  be  explained;  something  that  we  can  take  for  granted,  as  the 
nation  takes  for  granted  the  loyalty  of  its  citizens  when  danger 
threatens  the  national  independence  or  integrity.  Without  such  an 
inner  bond  all  forms  of  outward  organization  will  be  futile.  If  we 
are  to  have  an  organized  world  we  must  have  a  world  soul. 

There  are  groups  in  all  the  different  countries  who  perceive  this. 
Notably  is  it  true  of  the  radical  groups,  whether  they  hold  the 
Socialist  creed  or  the  more  individualistic  philosophy  of  the  Indus- 
trial Workers  of  the  World.  In  each  case  they  see  that  if  the  new 
world  order  for  which  they  are  striving  is  ever  to  be  realized,  there 
must  be  a  community  of  sentiment  as  well  as  of  interest  among  the 
members  who  compose  it.  They  are  trying  to  create  such  a  unity 
where  it  does  not  exist,  and  to  give  it  an  organ  of  expression  where 
it  is  already  present. 

But  they  are  handicapped  by  the  narrowness  of  their  horizon. 

*Cf.  Bryce,  "Modem  Democracies,"  London,  1921,  Vol.  I,  pp.  367  sq. 


352  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

Their  appeal  is  a  class  appeal.  In  their  new  world  order  there  is  a 
place  for  the  working  classes  of  all  countries,  but  those  who  uphold 
the  capitalistic  system  are  enemies  who  must  be  subdued  or  ex- 
pelled. Russia  has  given  us  an  illustration  of  the  extremes  to  which 
this  philosophy  may  go.  We  have  seen  the  Bolsheviki  turning  the 
guns  which  were  used  in  the  war  against  Germany  upon  their  own 
countrymen  in  order  to  establish  the  Soviet  Republic  and  demand- 
ing unconditional  submission  to  the  will  of  one  class — ^the  prole- 
tariat— as  the  first  step  toward  realizing  the  true  social  ideal. 

The  radical  movement  is  further  handicapped  by  its  lack  of 
historical  perspective.  It  is  not  only  a  class  movement;  it  is  a 
modern  movement.  Like  all  revolutions,  it  is  ready  to  break  with 
the  past  in  order  to  create  a  better  future ;  but  it  has  no  adequate 
substitute  to  offer  for  that  which  it  surrenders.  It  has  no  great 
tradition  reaching  back  across  the  centuries  uniting  it  to  men  of 
other  times  and  of  other  faiths ;  no  common  symbol  which  it  shares 
with  those  who  feel  themselves  the  heirs  of  all  the  ages. 

Here,  then,  is  the  opportunity  of  the  Christian  Church.  Chris- 
tianity, like  Socialism,  is  an  international  movement,  but  it  em- 
braces men  of  all  classes  as  well  as  of  all  races.  There  is  no  spot 
on  earth  where  Christianity  has  not  made  itself  a  home;  no  special 
stratum  from  which  it  has  not  drawn  adherents.  In  time  as  well 
as  in  space  it  is  ecumenical.  It  reaches  back  through  the  centuries 
and  finds  something  good  in  each ;  but  its  face  is  turned  toward  the 
future.  Its  word  to  the  individual  is:  "You  must  be  born  again;" 
to  society:  "The  Kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand."  Thus  uniting  rever- 
ence for  the  past  with  limitless  anticipation  for  the  future,  the 
Christian  religion  possesses  qualities  which  fit  it  to  become  the 
unifying  element  for  the  democracy  of  the  future. 

But  these  splendid  possibilities  must  be  utilized,  and  for  this 
organization  is  necessary.  Priceless  as  is  our  inheritance  it  will  not 
become  truly  ours  until  we  make  it  ours  by  use.  To  this  use  the 
living  Church  must  point  the  way.  We  must  take  the  old  words 
which  long  association  has  clothed  with  a  remote  and  artificial 
sanctity  and  make  them  a  part  of  the  vital  thought  of  to-day; 
we  must  devise  the  new  forms  of  social  organization  through 
which  the  ideals  thej'^  express  may  be  translated  from  hope  into 
accomplishment;  we  must  add  to  the  lesser  loyalties  which  divide 
the  citizens  of  the  different  nations,  the  inclusive  citizenship  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  DEMOCRACY  OF  THE  FUTURE     353 

2.   The  Contribution  of  the  American  Church  to  the  Larger 
Democratic  Experiment 

At  the  beginning  of  our  study  we  waraed  our  readers  that  our 
inquiry  would  concern  itself  with  many  questions  of  organization 
and  polity  which  seemed  remote  from  present  spiritual  interest, 
but  we  have  signally  failed  in  our  purpose  if  it  has  not  become  clear 
in  the  course  of  our  discussion  how  large  a  part  these  matters  play 
in  the  development  of  that  vital  religion  for  the  sake  of  which 
alone  the  Church  exists.  Constitutions  and  committees  are  only 
machinery;  and,  like  all  machinery,  they  need  to  be  tested  by  use. 
But  like  the  wires  that  convey  our  electricity  they  are  indis- 
pensable for  the  transmission  of  power.  If  contact  be  not  made 
between  the  dynamo  and  the  lamp  to  which  it  supplies  light  or  the 
engine  which  it  is  to  drive,  the  power  which  nature  has  stored  up 
for  our  service  will  waste  itself  without  result  or  become  a  minister 
of  death  instead  of  life.  So  the  spiritual  potentialities  which  God 
has  provided  for  our  uplift  and  our  happiness  will  never  reach  us 
unless  a  contact  is  made  and  man  is  brought  into  touch  with  his 
fellow-men  whom  God's  Spirit  has  touched.  God  is  the  power- 
house from  which  all  goodness  and  all  healing  spring.  It  is  for  the 
Church  to  make  the  contacts  that  will  set  His  Spirit  free  to  do  His 
beneficent  work. 

It  is  against  this  background  that  we  must  set  the  study  to 
which  the  foregoing  pages  have  been  devoted.  We  have  been  study- 
ing the  American  Church  not  for  its  own  sake  simply,  but  to  under- 
stand its  contribution  to  the  larger  democratic  experiment.  For  as 
the  Providence  of  God — using  methods  we  could  not  foresee  and 
can  not  control — has  brought  the  American  people  to  the  place 
where  what  they  do  and  what  they  refrain  from  doing  affects  not 
their  own  destiny  only,  but  all  the  peoples  of  mankind,  so  He  has 
given  the  American  churches  an  opportunity  which  they  hold  in 
trust  not  for  themselves  alone,  but  for  the  Church  universal. 

This  opportunity  is  compounded  of  different  elements.  It  is  due 
in  part  to  the  strategic  position  held  at  present  by  the  American 
people.  Whatever  may  be  in  store  in  the  more  distant  future,  it  is 
generally  conceded  that  in  the  years  immediately  before  us  the 
course  taken  by  the  United  States  in  world  affairs  will  be  of  mo- 
mentous consequence  for  the  future  of  civilization.  With  our  vast 
territory  and  all  but  exhaustless  natural  resources,  with  our  tradi- 


354  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 

tion  of  independence  and  inventiveness,  with  the  absence  of  external 
danger  and  of  the  suspicion  and  fear  which  accompany  such  danger, 
with  our  young  men  still  largely  spared  to  us  although  others  have 
lost  their  millions,  we  represent  a  reservoir  of  energy  of  incalculable 
power  for  good  or  incomparable  possibility  for  harm.  It  will  depena 
largely  upon  what  the  American  churches  do  in  the  next  generation 
whether  the  role  America  plays  in  the  world  brings  blessing  or 
bane. 

This  opportunity  is  due  also  to  the  Church's  inheritance  of  the 
democratic  spirit.  In  the  weakness  as  well  as  in  the  strength  of  this 
spirit,  the  American  Church  has  shared  to  the  full.  But  when  all 
allowance  has  been  made  for  democracy's  failures,  it  is  still  true 
that  in  democracy  the  world's  hope  lies.^  If  the  ideals  we  cherish 
are  to  be  realized  at  all,  they  can  be  realized  only  through  the  co- 
operation of  free  men.  But  the  Church  is  of  all  American  institu- 
tions the  freest.  Its  laws  are  of  its  own  making;  its  standards  self- 
imposed.  As  it  has  developed  its  institutions  little  by  little  to  meet 
the  changing  needs  of  the  past,  so  it  can  modify  them  as  experience 
may  show  to  be  necessary  to  meet  the  new  needs  of  the  future. 
In  the  Church,  therefore,  we  have  the  opportunity  to  try  the  demo- 
cratic experiment  under  the  most  favorable  auspices. 

This  opportunity  is  due,  further,  to  the  intimate  relation  which 
exists  between  the  American  churches  and  their  sister  churches  of 
other  lands.  No  form  of  living  Christianity  anywhere  but  has  its 
representative  here.  No  experiment  tried  here,  therefore,  but  will 
have  its  reflex  influence  upon  those  who  are  our  spiritual  kin. 
What  we  do  to  bring  the  churches  of  America  together  will  en- 
courage those  who  are  working  for  Christian  unity  everywhere. 
What  we  achieve  in  Christianizing  our  social  and  industrial  rela- 
tionships will  increase  the  faith  of  all  those  the  world  over  who  are 
trying  to  prove  that  Christianity  is  a  practicable  religion. 

For  all  these  reasons  we  need  enlightened  and  united  leadership. 
Upon  all  who  are  responsible  for  the  shaping  of  the  Church's  policy 
during  the  next  few  years,  particularly  upon  those  in  official  posi- 
tion, rests  the  most  solemn  of  duties:  to  see  to  it  that  each  thing 
they  do  and  each  decision  they  make  in  the  particular  part  of  the 
Church  they  serve,  promotes  and  does  not  hinder  this  larger  con- 
summation.   Above  all  it  is  their  duty  to  foster  the  spirit  of  sympa- 

*  Even  Dean  Inge  admits  that  with  all  democracy's  faults  he  sees  no  more 
promising  alternative.    Cf.  "The  Future,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  March,  1922. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  DEMOCRACY  OF  THE  FUTURE     355 

thetic  understanding  and  brotherly  goodwill  without  which  effective 
co-operation  on  a  world-wide  scale  is  impossible. 

One  more  factor  in  the  case  needs  to  be  added,  and  that  is  the 
urgency  of  the  situation  itself.  We  are  not  referring  here  to  any  of 
the  outward  difficulties  and  dangers  which  we  have  passed  in  review, 
but  to  something  more  intimate  and  vital  still.  We  refer  to  the  deep 
need  of  God  which  has  been  born  out  of  the  darkness  and  despair 
of  the  time.  All  over  the  world  there  are  men  and  women  who  are 
spiritually  orphaned,  longing  for  some  clear  revelation  of  goodness 
at  the  heart  of  things.  To-day  as  in  every  past  age  men  need  to 
be  assured  that  there  is  a  good  God  who  cares,  and  that  when  Jesus 
said,  "He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father,"  he  spoke  the 
truth.  This  reassuring  message  only  a  reunited  Church  can  give, 
for  to  be  given  effectively  it  must  be  expressed  not  in  words  but 
through  deeds. 

In  the  light  of  this  world-wide  opportunity  the  Church  makes 
its  appeal  to  the  young  men  and  women  of  our  country.  This  is  the 
real  call  to  the  Christian  ministry — not  simply  to  the  ministry  of 
preaching,  but  to  the  wider  ministry  which  includes  every  indi- 
vidual, the  ministry  of  which  Jesus  offered  the  great  example  when 
He  gave  Himself  on  the  Cross  for  the  life  of  the  world. 


i 


INDEX 


Adams,  Henry,  144. 

Ad  interim  committees  in  denomina- 
tions, 252. 

Administrative  Committee  of  the 
Federal  Council,  103,  247,  261,  267. 

Administrative  Committee  of  the 
National  Catholic  War  Council, 
268. 

Administrative  union,  186;  what  is 
meant  by,  235;  agencies  for  inter- 
denominational, 235-242;  see  also 
Union. 

Administrative  workers,  need  of  more 
effective  training  for,  306. 

Adventists,  66,  87. 

Africa,  9,  49,  236. 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
262. 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion 
Church,  262. 

Africans,  51. 

Agencies  of  local  cooperation,  186, 

Alaska,  237,  240. 

Alexandria,  198,  320. 

Alliance  of  Reformed  Churches 
throughout  the  World  Holding  the 
Presbyterian  System,  83,  273. 

Allies.  268,  269. 

Amalgamated  Garment  Workers,  38. 

America,  49,  54;  as  a  Christian  na- 
tion, 80. 

American  Baptist  Home  Mission 
Society,  departments  of,  227. 

American  Bible  Society,  103,  242. 

American  Christian  Convention,  262. 

American  Christianity  and  interna- 
tional problems,  46-60;  democratic 
character  of,  64;  provincialism  of, 
73;  denominationalism  of,  73; 
hopeful  factors  in,  87-91. 

American  Church,  46,  126;  differing 
estimates  of,  5-7;  an  experiment  in 
democracy,  63-65;  importance  of, 
for  the  understanding  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  64;  provincialism  of, 
72;  individualism  of,  74;  present 
responsibility  of,  275;  possible  con- 
tribution to  world-wide  union,  275; 


function  of,  345;  contribution  of,  to 
the  democratic  experiment,  353- 
355;  opportunity  of,  353;  strategic 
position  held  by,  353;  its  inheri- 
tance of  the  democratic  spirit,  354 ; 
freedom  of,  354;  relation  of,  to 
other  churches,  354;  see  also 
Church. 

American  churches,  number  and  re- 
sources of,  65-72;  denominational 
distribution  of,  65,  66;  in  Europe, 
209. 

American  Expeditionary  Force,  47, 
106. 

American  Federation  of  Labor,  38. 

American  International   Church,   36. 

American  labor  movement,  40;  see 
also  Labor. 

American  parish,  203,  204. 

American  Protestant  churches,  171 ; 
relation  to  their  sister  churches  in 
other  countries,  272-275;  different 
forms  of  possible  cooperation,  272- 
273. 

American  Protestantism,  denomina- 
tional distribution  of,  69-70;  out- 
standing characteristics  of,  72-76; 
see  also  Protestantism. 

American  Sabbath   Association,   242. 

American  Sunday-School  Union,  41, 
240,  241,  242. 

American  Tract  Society,  242. 

American  women,  religious  experi- 
ence of,  27;  critical  attitude  toward 
the  church,  27;  see  also  Women. 

Andover,   41. 

Anglican,  178. 

Anglicanism,  64 

Anglo-Catholics,   178. 

Annual  Conferences  of  Methodist 
Church,  324. 

Annuity  funds,  129. 

Anthony,   Alfred    Williams,   237. 

Anthony,  Robert  W.,  272. 

Anti-Saloon    League,   242,   270. 

Apostles'  Creed,   182. 

Apostolic  succession,  178. 

Applied  Christianity,  319. 


357 


358 


INDEX 


Arab,  Arabs,  34,  49. 

Archbishop,  165;  of  Canterbury,  126, 
275;  of  York,  126. 

Archbishops'   Commissions,   126. 

Architect  Secretary,  227. 

Argonne,  19. 

Arkansas,  198. 

Arlington,  100. 

Armament,  armaments,  160;  limita- 
tion of,  58. 

Armenia,  56. 

Armenians,  49,  56. 

Armistice,  113. 

Armistice  Day,  100. 

Army,  47;  and  religion,  15-23. 

Army  and  Navy  Chaplains,  Federal 
Council  Commission  on,  100,  106, 
261. 

Asia,  9,  49. 

Asia  Minor,  56. 

Asiatics,  51. 

Association  of  Biblical  Instructors, 
241,  311. 

Associations,  106,  108,  254;  as  allies 
of  the  churches,  247 ;  see  also  Young 
Men's  and  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian Associations  and  Christian  As- 
sociations. 

Atlanta,  218. 

Auburn,  325. 

Augsburg  Confession,  84. 

Augustana  Synod,  255. 

Australia,  259. 

Austria,  55. 

Austrians,  351. 

Authority,  central,  distrust  of  in 
Protestantism,  252-253;  unfortunate 
consequences  of  this  distrust,  252. 

Autocracy,  76,  350. 

Autocratic  methods  in  industry,  335. 

Baalbek,  35. 

Bachelor  of  Pedagogy,  323. 

Babson,  Roger,  25. 

Baker,  Secretary,  272. 

Balkans,  35,  49,  56. 

Baltimore,  217. 

Bangor,  325. 

Baptism,  81,   182. 

Baptism,  infant,  182. 

Baptist,  Baptists,  29,  65,  66,  77,  78, 
81,  86,  88,  101,  110,  124,  130,  182, 
198,  204,  215,  223,  224,  232,  253, 
312,  317,  320,  338;  basis  of  estima- 
tion for  church  membership,  67; 
Northern  churches,  70;  Southern 
churches,  70;  churches,  72;  move- 
ment for  union  between,  256;  doc- 


trinal differences  in,  257;  see  also 
Northern    Baptist   Convention. 

Baptists,  Northern,  70,  71,  82,  129,  145, 
257. 

Baptists,  Southern,  70,  71,  82,  102,  111, 
183,  184,  198,  257. 

Belgium,  263. 

Belief,  place  of  in  religion,  150. 

Believers'  baptism,  67,  81. 

Bible,  8,  19,  31,  42,  71,  81,  141,  143, 
145.  151,  179,  182,  283,  284,  290,  291, 
293,  303,  308,  309,  313,  318,  321; 
authority  of,  142;  in  public  schools, 
289;  historic  interpretation  of,  290; 
critical  study  of,  319. 

Bible  Chairs,  311. 

Bible  classes,  311. 

Bible,  Frank  W.,  236. 

Bible  Institutes,  145,  322,  323,  324. 

Bible  schools,  218,  311;  vacation,  280. 

Bible  study,  312. 

Bible  Union,  53. 

Biblical   prophecy,   145. 

Big  business,  171. 

Bishop,  251. 

Bliss,  General  Tasker,  58. 

Blue  Ridge,  316. 

Board  of  Church  Extension  of  the 
American    Moravian   Church,   227. 

Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  and  Sus- 
tentation  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  253. 

Board  of  Pastors,  204. 

Board  of  Promotion  of  the  Northern 
Baptist  Convention,  General,  82, 
120,  252. 

Board  of  trustees,  200. 

Boards  of  the  churches,  significance 
for  organization  of,  224. 

Boards  of  Education,  108;  Board  of 
Christian  Education  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  253. 

Boards  of  foreign  and  home  missions, 
79,  306;  Board  of  Home  Missions 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
U.  S.  A.,  198,  226,  228,  272;  depart- 
ments of,  228-230;  Board  of  Home 
Missions  and  Church  Extension  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
departments  of,  227;  Board  of 
Home  Missions  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  the  U.  S.,  227 ;  Board  of 
Missions  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  233;  Board  of  Mis- 
sions of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  234;  Woman's 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S. 


INDEX 


359 


A.,  234;  Woman's  Board  of  Home 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  234;  Board 
of  Missionary  Preparation,  235, 
241 ;  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Social  Service  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Canada,  237;  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  253; 
Board  of  National  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S. 
A.,  253. 

Boards  of  publication,  235. 

Boer  War,  60. 

Bohemians,  68. 

Bolsheviki,  352. 

Bolshevism,  259. 

Boston,  218,  319. 

Boston  Federation  of  Churches,  271. 

Boys'  clubs,  222. 

Boy  Scouts,  157. 

Brent,   Bishop   Charles  H.,   107. 

Brick  Presbyterian  Church,  203. 

Briggs,  Dr.,  143. 

British  Isles,  35. 

Brooklyn,  214. 

Brooklyn  Navy  Yard,  46. 

Bronx,  215. 

Brotherhood,  54. 

Brotherhood  of  man,  43,  56. 

Brown,  Arthur  J.,  275. 

Brown,  Charles  R.,  3,  232. 

Brown,  H.  G.,  41. 

Brown,  M.  E.,  41. 

Brown,  W.  Adams,  53,  93,  111,  137, 
147,  156,  177,  199,  272,  284,  292,  295, 
314,  317,  336. 

Bryan,  141. 

Bryce,  Viscount,  63,  351. 
Buddhist  abbot,  55. 

Bureau  of  Research,  232. 

Burke,  Father  John,  272. 

Bushnell,  Horace,  32,  281. 

Business  men,  new  interest  of,  in 
study,  334. 

Caird,  John,  147. 

Cairns,  David,  20. 

California,  36,  52,  83,   198,  218,  311, 

326. 
Callao,  198. 
Calvin,  74,   159,  222. 
Calvinism,  81. 

Campbell-Bannerman,  Sir  Henry,  60. 
Camp  Devens,  17. 
Camp  Dix,  21. 
Camp  Meade,  21. 
Camp  pastors,  17,  95. 


Camp  Upton,  110. 

Canada,  53,  60,  116,  188,  236,  237,  259. 

Canadian  boards,  237. 

Canadian    Home    Mission    Societies, 

237. 
Canal  Zone,  209. 
Capital,  43,  298,  330j  and  labor,  232; 

new  educational  mterest  of,  298. 
Capitalist,  38. 
Capitol,  100. 
Carroll,  H.  K.,  63. 
Catechetical  method,  280. 
Catechetical  training,  20. 
Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Divine,  109. 
Catholicism,  256,  287;  see  also  Roman 

Catholicism. 
Catholics,  English-speaking,  72. 
Catholic  tradition,  8,  83;  elements  in 
Protestant   churches,   190;   meaning 
of  the  term,  190. 
Catholic  War  Council,  96. 
Cavalier,  64. 

Cavert,  Samuel  McCrea,  263. 
Census   of   Religious   Bodies,   United 
States,  63,  64,  65,  66,  67,  69,  83,  129, 
255. 
Centenary  celebration,  57. 
Central  authority,  distrust  of  in  Prot- 
estantism,    252,     253;     unfortunate 
consequences  of  this  distrust,  252. 
Central   executive    authority,   lack   of 
this    in    Protestant    churches,    250; 
bearing   of   this  lack   on   Christian 
unity,  250. 
Central    executive   body,   relation   to 

local  churches,  250,  251. 
Centralization,  distrust  of  by  the 
American  people,  77 ;  by  the  Ameri- 
can churches,  77;  growing  tendency 
toward  in  the  Protestant  churches, 
252;  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
252,  253. 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  New  Jersey, 

298. 
Chaplains,  80,  95,   102,  106. 
Chaplains'  School,  106,  107,  272. 
Charity,  55;    organized,  270. 
Chicago,  145,  216,  217,  218,  294. 
Chicago  Commons,  319. 
Chicago  Federation  of  Churches,  215, 

216,  218. 
Child  in  industry,  32. 
Child  labor,  32. 
Child  psychology,  32. 
Children      under      thirteen     in      the 
Church,   proportion   of,  67;    among 
Protestants,     67;     among     Roman 
Catholics,  67. 


360 


INDEX 


Chillingworth,   293. 

China,  49,  50,  51,  52,  54,  88,  145,  236, 
264,  294,  337;  educational  revival 
in,  49. 

China  Continuation  Committee,  53. 

China  Famine  Relief  Fund,  55. 

Chinatown,  35. 

Chinese,  49,  52,  54,  168. 

Choir-master,  222. 

Christ,  6,  19,  22,  60,  99,  138,  139,  162, 
283,  284,  285,  291,  302,  331;  Second 
Advent  of,  6;  as  judge,  151;  see 
also  Jesus  Christ. 

Christ  Church,  203. 

Christendom,  180;   divisions  of,  184. 

Christian  Associations,  94,  111,  112, 
120,  224,  237,  240,  250,  253,  291, 
342;  close  relationship  to  the 
churches,  243,  247,  248;  significance 
of  for  the  work  of  the  Church,  243; 
problems  before  the,  245;  principles 
underlying  the  organization  of,  245, 
246;  relation  to  each  other,  246, 
247;  relation  to  local  church,  246; 
cooperation  of  in  county  work,  246; 
possible  relations  to  the  churches, 
247;  opportunities  of  conference 
with  the  churches,  247,  248;  need 
of  conserving  their  freedom  and  ini- 
tii^tive,  248;  relation  to  the  Fed- 
eral Council,  268;  see  also  Asso- 
ciations and  Young  Men's  and 
Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tions. 

Christian  Church,  see  Church. 

Christian  Church,  Forward  Move- 
ment of  the,  102. 

Christian  doctrine,  19;  Gospel,  21; 
religion,  51 ;  experience,  142,  180, 
189;  theology,  148;  social  order, 
162;  social  ideal,  164;  way  of 
realizing  the  ideal,  165;  view  of 
race,  167,  168;  view  of  nationality, 
168;  democracy,  217;  service,  286; 
religion,  history  of,  292;  institu- 
tions, 293,  321;  missions,  319; 
ethics,  319,  321. 

Christian  education,  32,  127,  186,  217, 
279,  308;  need  of  a  comprehensive 
program  of,  241;  agencies  of,  241, 
242,  268;  need  of  a  permanent  or- 
ganization of,  242;  relation  of 
agencies  of,  to  the  Federal  Council, 
268;  see  also  Boards  of  Education. 

Christian  Education,  Federal  Council 
Commission  on,  262. 

Christianity,  3;  forces  that  challenge, 
9 ;    as   a    self-centred    religion,   21 ; 


effect  of  war  upon,  51 ;  as  a  prac- 
ticable religion,  54,  156;  proof  of 
its  practicability,  292;  the  mother 
of  institutions,  292;  causes  of  pres- 
ent alienation  from,  297;  applied, 
greater  interest  in,  319. 

Christian  ministry,  unrest  in,  127,  128; 
competition  of  other  forms  of  life 
work,  128;  unfortunate  conditions 
in,  129;  insecurity  of  tenure,  130; 
evidence  of  interest  in,  131 ;  inade- 
quate training  for,  131 ;  need  of  a 
new  spirit  in,  133;  problem  of  the 
older  man  in,  133. 

Christian  Reformed  Church  in  North 
America,  262. 

Christians,  66. 

Christian  Science,  69,  75,  202. 

Christian  Scientists,  66,  299. 

Christian  unity,  10,  43,  90,  139,  140, 
146,  184,  248,  295,  331;  on  the  for- 
eign field,  52;  movement  for,  173- 
178;  liberal  view  of,  174,  175;  rea- 
sons against,  175;  influences  lead- 
ing toward,  177;  different  form  of 
movement  for,  177;  right  method 
of  approach  to,  184;  different 
phases  of  parts  of  a  single  move- 
ment, 188;  obstacles  to,  188;  in 
Canada,  188;  official  aspects  of  the 
movement  for,  189;  need  of  con- 
tacts for,  189;  principles  which  con- 
dition future  progress  toward,  189- 
191;  theoretical  difficulties  in  the 
way  of,  190;  moral  difficulties  in 
the  way  of,  190;  need  of  frankness 
in  facing  difficulties,  190;  obstacles 
to  presented  by  the  existing  situa- 
tion in  the  denominations,  249-255; 
see  also  Union. 

Christ-like  God,  169. 

Christ-like  society,  156. 

Church,  24,  25,  26,  27,  31,  43,  167; 
as  a  social  asset,  3;  and  social  bet- 
terment, 6;  need  of  a  sound  theory 
of,  7;  membership  in  the  army,  17; 
and  the  war,  soldiers'  criticism  of, 
22;  indifference  to,  22;  and  social 
progress,  25;  attendance,  25;  ad- 
ministration, 28 ;  missionary  task  of, 
changes  in,  40-42;  as  the  rich  man's 
club,  44;  attitude  of,  toward  the 
League  of  Nations,  57-60;  organi- 
zations, number  and  membership 
of,  65,  66;  buildings,  value  of,  65, 
68;  debt,  amount  of,  65,  68;  be- 
nevolences, amount  of,  65,  68;  prop- 
erty, value  of,  65,  68;  and  state  in 


INDEX 


361 


the  United  States,  76-81 ;  unity, 
86;  Christian,  87;  and  international 
brotherhood,  97-101 ;  work  of,  for 
the  soldiers,  94-96;  what  the  war 
did  for  the,  114;  problem  of  its 
nature,  137;  principles  governing 
our  ideal  for,  138,  139;  as  a  religious 
institution,  138;  and  state,  140, 
289;  breadth  of  its  mission,  138; 
and  the  new  social  order,  153-156; 
stake  of,  in  the  new  social  order, 
153-156;  nature  and  limits  of  social 
responsibility  of,  157;  and  state, 
Roman  Catholic  view  of,  158,  159; 
Protestant  view  of,  159;  Ritschl's 
view  of,  159;  relation  of,  to  indus- 
try, 163-168;  social  mission  of,  169- 
172;  principles  governing,  169;  as 
an  institution,  171 ;  as  an  experi- 
ment station,  172,  184,  185;  as  the 
scene  of  compromise,  172;  as  spir- 
itual society  and  as  ecclesiastical 
institution,  173-191 ;  as  corjms  per- 
mixtum,  174;  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, 174;  as  an  institution,  differ- 
ent views  of  the  significance  of, 
178-182;  different  views  of  the 
attitude  of,  toward  political  and 
economic  questions,  183;  as  a  liv- 
ing organism,  184;  progress  in,  184; 
of  the  future,  186;  inferences  as  to 
the  future  organization  of,  186-188; 
specializing  for  service,  224-248; 
extension,  227;  interest  in  indus- 
trial questions,  231 ;  erection,  232 ; 
union,  movement  for  in  Canada, 
259;  school,  280;  responsibility  of 
for  religious  education,  287,  303; 
as  an  instrument  of  divine  educa- 
tion, 191 ;  in  the  community,  195- 
219;  as  a  school  of  religion,  279- 
301;  member,  292;  as  an  agency 
for  realizing  the  Christian  ideal  in 
society,  292;  organization,  need  of 
studying  and  understanding,  294; 
contribution  to  political  education, 
300;  as  a  developing  institution, 
303;  as  a  business  enterprise,  305; 
as  an  educational  enterprise,  305; 
as  field  for  Christian  leadership, 
305;  the  living  Church  as  an  edu- 
cational institution,  307,  326;  as  an 
institution  of  worship,  317;  history, 
318,  321 ;  as  a  training  school  in  co- 
operative thinking,  327-333;  differ- 
ences as  to  nature,  331 ;  present 
opportunity  of,  349;  seriousness  of 
the  issue,  349,  350;  contribution  of, 


to  the  future  of  democracy,  349- 
355;  international  character  of  the 
Christian,  352;  witness  of  a  united 
Church  to  the  living  God,  355;  see 
also  American  Church. 

Church  and  Race  Relations,  Federal 
Council  Commission  on  the,  166, 
232,  261,  270,  343. 

Church  and  Social  Service,  Federal 
Council  Commission  on  the,  261. 

Churches  of  Christ,  66,  70,  87. 

Churches  of  God  in  North  America, 
262;  Centennial  Movement  of  the, 
120. 

Churches,  relation  of,  to  the  Christian 
Associations,  247,   248. 

Church  E.\tension  Committee,  204, 
216,  229,  231. 

Church  Extension  Societies,  214. 

Church  Headquarters,  110. 

Church  of  England,  83,  273. 

Church  of  Rome,  142. 

Church  of  the  Covenant,  203. 

Church  of  the  Lutheran  Brethren, 
255. 

Church  Peace  Union,  58. 

Cincinnati,  218. 

Citizen,   164. 

Citizenship  as  a  unifying  ideal,  350; 
United  States  as  an  example  of, 
351. 

City  as  a  laboratory,  324. 

City  Missions  Council  of  Brooklyn, 
215. 

City  Missions  Council  of  New  York, 
214. 

City  Mission  Societies,  214. 

City  Missions  Society  of  New  York, 
215. 

Civic  forums,  222. 

Civil  War,  65. 

Class,  28,  350;  consciousness,  growth 
of,  37-39;  struggle,  38;  problem  of, 
42,  43;  Christian  view  of,  170;  an- 
tagonism,  175;    appeal,  352. 

Classis,  42,  77,  250,  254. 

Cleveland,   89,  217,   219. 

Coale,  J.  J.,  44. 

Coe,  George  Albert,  281. 

Collective  thinking,  need  of  an  or- 
gan for,  in  the  Church,  339-345. 

College  boards,  79. 

College  pastor,  pastors,  311,  313. 

Colleges,  235,  280,  289,  307,  308;  and 
universities,  241 ;  responsibility  of, 
for  religious  education,  308;  see 
also  Universities. 

Colorado,  240,  311. 


362 


INDEX 


Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  America,  262. 

Colored  Work,  227. 

Columbia  University,  36,  314,  315,  319. 

Columbus,  132. 

Comity  and  cooperation,  237. 

Comity  Committee,  215. 

Commission  of  Religious  Forces,  154, 
166. 

Commission  on  Christian  Education, 
262. 

Commission  on  Councils  of  Churches, 
216,  261. 

Commission  on  International  Justice 
and  Goodwill,  263,  274. 

Commission  on  Missions  of  the  Na- 
tional Council  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Churches,  252. 

Commission  on  Oriental  Relations, 
263. 

Commission  on  Social  Service  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  111. 

Commission  on  Social  Service  and 
National  Catholic  Welfare  Council, 
joint  investigation  of  bituminous 
coal  fields   recommended   by,  271. 

Commission  on  the  Church  and  Race 
Relations,  168. 

Commission  on  the  Church  and  Social 
Service,  166,  232,  261,  270,  343. 

Commission  on  the  Relation  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
to  the  Churches,  247. 

Commission  on  Training  Camp  Activ- 
ities, 106. 

Committee  on  Army  and  Navy  Chap- 
lains,  100. 

Committee  on  Conservation  and  Ad- 
vance of  the  Council  of  the  Boards 
of  Benevolence  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  120. 

Committee  on  Cooperation  in  Latin 
America,  53. 

Committee  on  Methods  of  Coopera- 
tion of  Boston  meeting,  265. 

Committee  on  Recruiting  and  Train- 
ing for  the  Work  of  the  Church, 
108. 

Committee   of  Reference  and  Coun- 
sel, 236. 
Committee  of  Six,  272. 
Committee    on  Social   and  Religious 

Surveys,  226,  345. 
Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Reli- 
gious Outlook,  16,  48,  111-113,  163, 
242,  263,  279,  344;    constitution  of, 
112;  method  of  procedure,  112. 
Committees  on  supply,  132. 


Communicants*  classes,  304. 
Community  church,  205-213;  what  is 
meant  by,  205;   different  forms  of, 
206;     with    denominational    afltilia- 
tions,    209-211;     numbers    of,    210; 
advantages   of,   210;    difficulties   of, 
211;    influence    of   women    in,   212; 
need  of  relating  to  denominational 
organizations,  212;    movement,  im- 
portance of,  212. 
Community    Church    in    New    York 
City,  statement  of  purpose  of,  205, 
206. 
Community    evangelization,   218. 
Community  need,  problem  presented 
to  the   Christian   Associations,  246. 
Competitive   element   in  human   na- 
ture, 156. 
Compromise,  161,  179;  Christian  view 
of,    161 ;    principles    governing    the 
Christian  attitude  to,  161,  162. 
Comte,  144. 
Concentration,  332. 
Concordat,  211. 
Conference,  70,  77. 
Conference  on  Faith  and  Order,  274, 

275;    committees  of,  275. 
Conference  on  Life  and  Work,  275. 
Conference   on   organic   union,  260. 
Conference  of  Theological  Seminaries 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
241,  322,  323,  342;   committees  of, 
323. 
Conferences,    annual,    of    Methodist 

Church,  324. 
Confession,  288. 

Congregational,  200,  317,  320;  minis- 
try, condition  of,  131. 
Congregational    Churches,    110,    129, 
146,  223,  253,  259,  262;  Conference 
of  Southern  California,  57;   World 
Movement,  120;    National  Council 
of   the,    131;    Educational    Society, 
132;  and  the  Lawrence  strike,  232; 
Executive   Committee    of  the   Na- 
tional Council  of  the,  252;  Commis- 
sion  on  Missions   of  the   National 
Council  of  the,  252. 
Congregationalism,  64, 72, 207, 208. 257 
Congregationalist,    Congregationalists, 
29.  65,  66,  70,  77,  78,  81,  83,  101, 
209,  232,  290,  317. 
Congress,  251. 
Congresses  of  philanthropic  workers, 

270. 
Connecticut,  35,  218. 
Connecticut  State  Federation,  218. 
Conscience,  148. 


INDEX 


363 


Consecration,  86;  need  of,  in  social 
matters,  170. 

Consensus  of  Christian  experience, 
180. 

Conservatives,  147. 

Constantinople,  259. 

Constitution  of  the  United  States,  187. 

Constructive  thinkers,  need  of  de- 
veloping and  training,  306. 

Constructive  thought,  307. 

Consumer,  164. 

Contact,  need  of,  189;  importance  of, 
for  successful  thinking,  330 ;  Church 
as  providing  an  opportunity  of, 
332;  need  of,  for  successful  think- 
ing, 334. 

Continent,  132. 

Continuation  Committee,  Commit- 
tees, 29,  53,  186,  235,  322;  of  Edin- 
burgh Conference,  53;  of  Garden 
City    Conference,   242. 

Conventions,  186. 

Conversion,  86,  285,  288. 

Cooperation,  156,  158;  in  theological 
education  in  China,  52;  between 
Christians,  146;  contribution  to- 
ward unity,  187;  between  Protes- 
tants, Catholics  and  Jews,  272;  in 
thinking,  its  importance,  327. 

Cooperative  movement,  7,  299;  meth- 
od of  study,  164;  thinking,  condi- 
tions of,  332-338;  religious  think- 
ing, contribution  of  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning  to,  336. 

Cope,  311. 

Copernican  astronomy,  150. 

Cornell,  311. 

Cotton  mills,  50. 

Council,  70. 

Council  of  Christian  Education,  343. 

Council  of  Church  Boards  of  Educa- 
tion, 90,  121,  127,  240.  241,  244,  279, 
306,  312,  317;  Life  Work  Commit- 
tee of  the,  127;  work  of,  312. 

Council  of  Churches,  213. 

Councils  of  Churches,  Federal  Coun- 
cil  Commission  on,  216,  261. 

Council  of  College  Pastors,  311. 

Council  of  the  Boards  of  Benevolence 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
120,  252. 
Council   of   Women   for   Home   Mis- 
sions, 103,  228,  235,  236,  237,  248. 
Country  life,  232;  Department  of,  198. 
Country    church.    197,    198;    as    com- 
munity centre,  201. 
Country  Church  Commission,  227. 
County  federations,  218. 


Courses  on  religion  in  universities, 
need  of  correlating,  314. 

Court  of  International  Justice,  177. 

Creation,  151;  in  religion,  11. 

Criticism,    143. 

Cromwell,  74. 

Creed,  Creeds,  143,  151,  284,  291;  dif- 
ferent attitudes  to,  150,  151. 

Cumberland  Mountain  Presbytery, 
230. 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church, 
256. 

Cumberland  Presbyterian  Education- 
al  Endowment  Commission,  120. 

Curriculum,  281,  313,  318;  changes  in, 
321. 

Curtis,  Professor,  340. 

Cutler,  Colonel  Harry,  272. 

Czecho-Slovak,  Czecho-Slovaks,  226, 
228,  351. 

Czecho-Slovakia,  273. 

Daily  chapel,  313. 

Danish  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 
in  America,  256. 

Dante,  174. 

Darwin,  141. 

Dayton,  218. 

Deacon,  Deacons,  222,  223. 

Deaconesses.  29,  223. 

Deaconess'  schools,  324. 

Decentralizing  tendency  in  American 
Christianity,  132. 

Democracy,  3,  350;  and  the  Church, 
3-5,  7,  349;  in  religion,  287. 

Democratic  spirit,  91 ;  control  of  in- 
dustry, 336. 

Denoi^iination,  Denominations,  63, 
77;  relative  gain  or  loss  in  numbers, 
72;  significance  of,  180,  181;  lack 
of  effective  central  organization  in, 
249,  250;  lack  of  unity  within.  249- 
255;  failure  of  the  boards  to  meet 
this  need,  250;  leading  groups  of, 
255. 

Denominational  Christianity,  73;  its 
two  forms,  73;  types,  81-87;  spirit, 
123,  294;  its  good  points,  123,  124; 
its  dangers,  124;  consciousness,  186; 
cooperation,  need  of  official,  189; 
rivalry,  197,  206;  church  function- 
ing for  the  entire  community,  209- 
211;  forward  movements.  252; 
families,  movement  for  the  reunion 
of,  255;  colleges.  289,  309,  310,  312; 
required  rehgious  education  in,  310; 
differences,  294;  control  of  i^em- 
inaries,  317;  training  schools,  324. 


364 


INDEX 


Denominationalism,  21,  140,  148;  of 
American  Christianity,  73;  versus 
nationalism,  273. 

Denver,  154,  166,  176. 

Denver  churches  and  the  car  strike, 
232. 

Denver  Commission  of  Religious 
Forces,  232,  271. 

Denver  Trades  and  Labor  Assembly, 
176. 

Department,  Departments,  42,  227; 
what  is  meant  by,  227;  relation  to 
older  forms  of  work,  227. 

Department  of  Church  and  Country 
Life,  198,  228,  229,  230;  work  of, 
229;  relation  to  parishes  and  pres- 
byteries, 230. 

Department  of  City  and  Immigrant 
Work,  228,  229;  service  of,  228;  as 
a  training  school,  228;  work  of  in 
plannmg  community  work,  228;  in 
inspiring  home  church,  229. 

Department  of  Missions  and  Church 
Extension  of  the  Domestic  and 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
U.  S.  A.,  227. 

Department  of  Nation-Wide  Cam- 
paign of  the  Presiding  Bishop  and 
Council  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  102. 

Department  of  Religious  Education, 
304,  321. 

Department  of  Social  Service,  228, 
230. 

Department  of  Vacancy  and  Supply, 
132. 

Detroit,  217,  218,  271 ;  cooperation  of 
Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants 
m,  271. 

Devil,  145. 

Devine,  Edward  T.,  154,  232. 

Dewey,  Professor,  49. 

Difference,  the  Christian  way  of  deal- 
ing with,  327-333;  the  problem  of, 
in  religion,  329. 

Differentiated  ministry  illustrated  in 
the  boards  of  the  Church,  223; 
foundation  for,  in  present  organiza- 
tion of  Church,  223. 

Diocese,  42,  77,  250,  251,  253. 

Diocese  of  Massachusetts,  30. 

Diplomatic  problems,  233. 

Disarmament,  58. 

Disarmament  Conference,  50. 

Disciples  Bible  College,  311. 

Disciples  of  Christ,  29,  65,  66,  70,  81, 
83.  86,  87,   182,  198,  208,  215,  232, 


233,  262,  311;  United  Christian 
Missionary  Society,  120;  Social 
Service  Commission  of  the,  198;  as 
a  denomination,  208. 

District,  254. 

Divisions  of  Christendom,  possible  at- 
titudes toward,  173-178. 

Doctor  of  Philosophy,  316,  323. 

Doctor  of  Theology,  316. 

Doctrinal  differences  among  American 
Christians,  70;  significance  within 
the  denominations,  71 ;  in  the  Bap- 
tist Church,  257;  in  the  Episcopal 
Church,  257;  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  257;  teaching,  dislike  of  in 
our  age,  291. 

Dogmas  of  Faith,  181. 

Dominican,  Dominicans,  68,  181. 

Dorsey,   Governor,   167. 

Double  standard  in  Roman  Catholi- 
cism, 181. 

Drake,  150. 

Duluth,  218. 

Dunkers,  66,  87. 

Dutch,  64. 

Dutch  Reformed,  84,  215,  254. 


Eastern  Orthodox  Churches,  65-66. 

East  Side,  34,  35,  203. 

Ecclesiastical   control,  318. 

Economic  life   of  the  East,  50. 

Ecumenical  Councils,  186. 

Edinburgh   Conference,  53,  299. 

Editorial  Council  of  the  Religious 
Press,  299. 

Education,  227;  importance  of,  42, 
234;  in  the  East,  49;  religious 
agencies  of,  235;  in  denominational 
responsibility,  252;  as  a  social  force, 
280 ;  as  a  social  process,  281 ;  rela- 
tion between  theory  and  practice 
in,  283. 

Educational  agencies,  10,  241 ;  of  the 
churches,  79;  work  of  the  Church, 
167;  evangelists,  need  of,  286;  in- 
stitutions, 297;  task  of  the  Church, 
303;  leadership,  sources  of,  302, 
307;  evangelism,  315. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  220,  285, 

Egypt,  35,  56,  160. 

Egyptians,  49. 

Elder,  222,  223. 

Elective  courses  in  religion  in  state 
universities,  311;  in  Eastern  col- 
leges and  universities,  313. 

Electives,  increase  of  in  our  semi- 
naries, 321. 


INDEX 


365 


Ellis  Island,  64,  240. 

Ellwood.  Charles  A.,  3. 

Emmanuel  Movement,  202. 

Employee,  164. 

Employees'  participation  in  manage- 
ment, 336. 

Employer,  Employers,  39,  164,  286. 

Employers'  Association  of  Pittsburgh, 
24. 

Employers'  associations,  175. 

England,  43,  49,  54,  109,  165,  269; 
after  the  war,  126. 

Episcopacy,  64,  294. 

Episcopal,  183,  204. 

Episcopal  Church,  29,  67,  72,  82,  83, 
101,  110,  111,  124,  132,  146,  200,  211, 
215,  251,  252,  253;  doctrinal  differ- 
ences in,  256,  257;  relation  to  Fed- 
eral Council,  267 ;  see  also  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church, 

Episcopalian,  Episcopalians,  65,  66, 
70,  77,  78,  221,  223,  294,  312,  324. 

Episcopate,  83;  historic,  182. 

Epworth  League,  30. 

Equality  of  religions  before  the  law, 
79. 

Erastians,  159. 

Erie,  218. 

Ethical  qualities,  21. 

Ethics,  319;  of  peace,  155;  of  war, 
155. 

Europe  5,  9,  45,  47,  48,  51,  54,  55,  56, 
209,  263,  351. 

European  prestige,  51. 

Europeans,  51. 

Evangelical  Association,  66,  87,  233, 
262;  Forward  Movement  of  the, 
120. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of 
America   (Eielsen's  Synod),  255. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of  Iowa 
and  Other  States,  255. 

Evangelical  Synod  of  North  America, 
233,  262;  Forward  Movement  of 
the,  120. 

Evangelism,  74,  227,  283,  302;  and 
education,  283. 

Evangelism  and  Life  Service,  Federal 
Council  Commission  on,  261. 

Evangelists,  educational,  need  of,  286. 

Evanston,  324. 

Evolution,  141,  310. 

Ex  cathedra,  174. 

Excelsior  Springs,  212. 

Executive  Board  of  the  United 
Lutheran  Church  in  America,  252. 

Executive  Commission  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  252. 


Executive  Committee  (General  War- 
Time  Commission),  109-110. 

Executive  Committee,  252. 

Executive  Committee  of  the  National 
Council  of  the  Congregational 
Churches,  252. 

Exegesis,  318. 

Expeditionary  Force,  American,  47, 
106. 

Experiment  in  education,  281. 

Experimental  method  in  education, 
280. 


Faith,  285,  291,  329,  330,  333;  obsta- 
cles to,  22;  in  God.  23,  156,  162;  in 
God,  experimental  basis  of,  147; 
practical  difficulties  in  the  way  of, 
156. 

Family  as  a  unit  for  Christian  work, 
246. 

Family  of  Nations,  58. 

Far  East,  48,  50,  56. 

Faunce,  W.  H.  P.,  112. 

Federal  Council  in  France,  273;  in 
Switzerland,  273;  proposed  by 
Philadelphia  plan,  260. 

Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America,  57,  82,  89,  90,  97, 
98,  100,  103,  110,  111,  121,  166,  168, 
214,  247,  261-269,  274,  299,  306,  343, 
344 ;  Year  Book  of,  66,  69 ;  nature 
of,  261 ;  purposes  of,  261 ;  E.xecutive 
Committee  of,  261 ;  Administrative 
Committee  of,  103,  247,  261,  267; 
Commissions  of,  261,  262;  support 
of,  262;  growth  of,  262;  theoretical 
basis  of,  262;  churches  represented, 
262;  achievements  of,  263;  Boston 
meeting  of,  263;  program  of,  265; 
weaknesses  of,  266;  further  work 
proposed  for,  266;  changes  proposed 
at  Boston  meeting,  267 ;  financial 
support  of,  267 ;  recommendation 
that  this  be  assumed  by  denomina- 
tions, 267;  relation  to  Home  Mis- 
sions Council,  268;  to  foreign  Mis- 
sions Conference,  268;  to  agencies 
of  Christian  education,  268;  to  the 
Christian   Associations,  268. 

Federal  and  organic  union,  187;  rela- 
tion between  illustrated  in  Ameri- 
can history,  187. 

Federal  union,  177,  185,  261-269; 
meaning  of,  177;  see  also  Union. 

Federated  church,  208,  209;  advan- 
tages of,  208;  difficulties  of,  209; 
other  meanings  of,  209. 


366 


INDEX 


Federation,    movement,    204;    larger 
significance    of,    219;    function    of 
representatives,   219. 
Federation  of  Churches  of  New  York 
City,  plans  for  a  more  responsible 
and  representative   federation,  214, 
215. 
Federations    of    Churches,    102,    186, 
213-219;    what    is    meant    by,    213; 
possible  ways  of  forming,  214 ;  num- 
ber of,  216;  principles  of,  216;  pro- 
gram  of,   217;    county,   218;    state, 
218;  see  also  local  federations. 
Federation  of  Labor,  175. 
Federation    of    Woman's    Boards    of 
Foreign  Missions  of  North  America, 
103,  236;  work  of,  238;  representa- 
tion of  in  Foreign   Missions  Con- 
ference,  238. 
Financial  control  of  church  property, 

200. 
Finney,  285. 
Finnish    Apostolic    Lutheran    Church 

of  America,  256. 
Finnish    Evangelical    National    Luth- 
eran Church  in  America,  256. 
Foch,  Marshal,  269,  340. 
Follett,  335. 
Food  control,  96. 
Foreign-born  Americans,  36. 
Foreign  field,  29. 
Foreign  language  press,  36. 
Foreign  language  publications,  240. 
Foreign-missionary      enterprise,      87 ; 
extension  of,  52;   appeal,  broaden- 
ing of,  286. 
Foreign  missions,  88,  170,  186;  wom- 
en's boards   of,   29,   234,   237;    and 
internationalism,  48-54;  boards,  79; 
effect  upon  denominationalism,  88; 
Federation  of   Woman's  Boards  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  North  America, 
103,  236,  238;   specialized  work   of, 
233;  problems  of  organization,  233; 
advantages    of     united    leadership, 
233;  different  degrees  of  centraliza- 
tion, 233;  see  also  Boards  of;  Mis- 
sions. 
Foreign      Missions      Conference      of 
North  America,  53,  90.  103,  121,  186, 
235,   236,   248,  306;    policy    of,   236, 
238;    work  done   by,   236;    need   of 
strengthening    executive    power    of, 
239;  relation  to  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil, 268. 
Foreign  relations,  45. 
Foreign-speaking     churches,     number 
and  strength  of,  68. 


Foreign-speaking  element,  strength  of 
in  Roman  Catholic  churches,  69, 
72;    in   Eastern   Catholic   churches, 

69,  72 
Foreign-Speaking  Work,  227. 
Forward  movements,  denominational, 

252 
Fosdick,  Harry  Emerson,  22,  112. 
Foster,  0   D.,  127,  308.  323 
France,  47,  54,  263,  269,  273,  330,  351. 
Franciscan,   Franciscans.  68,   181. 
Fraternal  delegate,  90,  230. 
Free  Baptist  General  Conference,  262. 
Free  Church  Council  of  England  and 

Wales,  273 
Freedmen,  232 
Freedom,  139,  180,  189;  of  conscience, 

44,  45;  and  unity,  139 
Free     Methodist    Church    of    North 

America,  233. 
French,  36.  64,  68,  350 
French  Broad  Presbytery,  230. 
Friendly    Citizens'   Campaign,    122. 
Friends  m  America,  82,  262;  Forward 

Movement  of  the,  120. 
Frontier  Work,  227. 
Fundamentalists,  145. 
Furlough  as  an  opportunity  for  study 

for  foreign   missionaries,   325. 

Galicians,  36. 

Galileo,  141. 

Garden  City  Conference,  242. 

Gary  plan,  280. 

Gathering    of    federation    secretaries, 

219. 
General    Assembly    of    the    Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  70, 

143.  252,  260. 
General   Board  of  Promotion  of  the 

Northern    Baptist    Convention,   82, 

120,  252. 
General     Conference     of     Methodist 

Church,  30,  70,  251. 
General  Convention,  102,  249. 
General  Council,  249. 
General   Council   of  the   Evangelical 

Lutheran  Church  in  North  America, 

255. 
General  staff,  339;  its  function  in  the 

army,  339,  340;   need   of  a  similar 

organization  m  business,  340,  341. 
General    Synod    of    the    Evangelical 

Lutheran    Church    in    the    United 

States  of  America,  255. 
General    War-Time    Commission    of 

the  Churches,  46,  94,  96,  100,  103- 

111,    121,    122,    124,    181,    188,    263, 


INDEX 


2ISJ 


266.  344;  organization  of,  104;  pur- 
pose  of.   104;    committees  of,   104; 
expenses  of,  104;  its  function  as  a 
clearing-house  of  information,  105; 
activities    of,    105;    work   for   chap- 
lains,   106,    107;    for   camp    pastors, 
107;  for  negro  troops,  107,  108;  for 
munition  workers,  108;  for  prospec- 
tive theological  students,  108,  109; 
Executive  Committee  of,  109,  110; 
reasons  for  success  of,  109. 
Geneva,  74.  159.  222,  244,  316. 
German,  Germans,  36,  64,  68,  350. 
German  Church,  opportunity  for  the 

formation  of  a  free,  273. 
German  Evangelical  Synod,  65,  66,  70, 

87 
German  intellectuals.  97. 
German  Reformed.  84. 
Germany.  87,  93.  273,  280.  330,  352. 
Gettysburg,  351 
Ghetto.  35 

Gilkey,  Charles  W.,  26,  112. 
Gill,  197 
Girls'  clubs,  222 
Gilroy.  William  E.,  259. 
Gladden,  Washington,  90. 
God,   19,  22    139,    143.    148,   149,   151, 
152     156,    158,    160.    165     180,    284, 
296,   331,  332;   the  Christlike,  292; 
need  of,  in  our  time,  355. 
Good  Friday,  271. 
Good  government  clubs,  222. 
Goodwill,  333 
'Good  Will  Council,"  176. 
Gospel,  24,  41,  44,  141,  143,  153,  162, 

164.  179.  195,  286,  288,  297,  322. 
Governing   bodies    of    the   denomina- 
tions, differences  in,  249-250 
Graded  Lesson  Series,  290. 
Graded  teaching,  281. 
Grant    Madison.  43. 
Great  Britain,  263.  323 
Greek,  Greeks,  36,  68,  288. 
Greek    Orthodox    Church     174,    258, 
259;  relation  to  Protestant  churches, 
259;  in  Russia.  259. 
Greer,  Bishop,   109. 
Grey.  Lord.  60. 
Group  contact,  need  of  in  the  Church, 

336. 
Group  study,  importance  of,  166. 
Group  thinking,  significance  of,  335; 
need  of,  among  leaders,  338;  need 
of  correlating,  342. 
Grundy  County,  198. 
Guild.  Roy  B.,  214. 
Guild  socialism,  39. 


Hague,  177. 

Haig,  Earl,  340,  341. 

Hamilton,  323. 

Hampton   Institute,  325. 

Hangchow,  54. 

Harding,   President,  80,   100. 

Harlem,  35. 

Harnack,   174. 

Hartford,    323. 

Harvard,  315,  316,  318,  319,  320,  322, 

325. 
Harvey,  21. 
Hell,   174. 
Hickory,  198. 

High  and  low  church  parties  in  dif- 
ferent churches,  82,  257. 
Highchurch  view  of  the  Church,  178; 
Lutherans,  179;  Presbyterians,  179; 
Episcopalians,  295. 
Highchurchman,  178;  meaning  of  the 

term.  178. 
Higher  institutions   of   learning,   con- 
tribution of  to  cooperative  religious 
thinking,  336. 
Hindus,  49,  52. 

Historic   Episcopate,  182,  185. 
Historic  religions,  148. 
Historic  spirit,  180. 
History,  314;  of  religion,  321. 
Hitchcock,   Dr.,  35. 
Hobson,  Professor,  340. 
Holmes,   John    Haynes,   3,    150,    205, 

208,  289. 
Holy  Scriptures,  99. 
Holy  Spirit,   165. 

Home   church.   29,  53;    effect   of  for- 
eign missions  in,  53. 
Home  missionary,  the  old-time,  41. 
Home    missions,    186,    294;    the    new, 
42,  89;  boards,  78,  108;  educational 
work   of,  325;   see  also  Boards  of; 
Missions. 
Home  Missions  Committee,  216. 
Home  Missions  Council,  90.  103.  121. 
186.    196,    208,    228,    235,    236,    240, 
247,  254,  306;    work  of,  237;    com- 
mittees of,  237;  relation  of  Council 
of  Women  for  Home  Missions,  237; 
policy   of,   238;    difficulty  of  secur- 
ing   unity    through,    239;    need    of 
strengthening    executive    power    of, 
239. 
Home  Missions  Council  of  Montana. 

240. 
Homiletics,  318. 
Hoover,  55,  96. 
Hostess  houses,  246. 
Hough's  Neck,  207. 


368 


INDEX 


Howard  University,  325. 
Hungarian,   Hungarians,   36, 
Hungary,  35. 
Hutchinson,  Paul,  273. 


Icelandic  Lutheran  Church  in  North 
America,  256. 

Ideals,  182. 

Illinois,  41,  311. 

Imagination,  335. 

Immanuel  Synod,  255. 

Immersion,  86,  182. 

Immigration,  35,  44,  232;  in  the 
Church,  35. 

Immortality,  22,  143. 

India,  50,  52,  236,  273,  294,  337. 

Indiana,  218,  311. 

Indianapolis,  217,  218. 

Indian  missions,  227,  237. 

Indians,  240. 

Individual,  value  of  for  Christianity, 
138,  139. 

Individualism,  81,  133,  199;  of  Amer- 
ican Church,  74;  and  democracy, 
74;  its  good  side,  74;  its  bad  side, 
74;  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
181. 

Individualistic  Protestantism,  153. 

Indulgences,  288. 

Industrial  life  of  the  East,  50. 

Industrial  question,  304. 

Industrial  struggle,  moral  significance 
of,  154;  demoralizing  effects  of,  155. 

Industrial  unrest,  333. 

Industrial  Workers  of  the  World,  38, 
39,  40,  175,  297,  333,  351. 

Industry,  89,  163;  modern,  37. 

Infant  baptism,  67,  81,  182. 

Information  Service  of  Social  Service 
Commission,  271. 

Inge,  Dean,  354. 

Inquisition,  179. 

Interchurch  Emergency  Campaign, 
109. 

Interchurch  World  Movement,  73, 
86,  115-123,  129,  196,  197,  225,  238, 
245,  252.  289;  origin  of,  116;  pur- 
poses of,  116;  relation  to  denomi- 
national agencies,  117-120;  relation 
to  mterdenominational  agencies, 
117;  Committee  on  Industrial  Re- 
lations, 118;  amount  raised,  118; 
reasons  for  failure  of,  119;  begin- 
ning of,  119;  necessary  changes  in 
plans  of,  121 ;  contrast  to  General 
War-Time  Commission,  121 ; 
Friendly   Citizens'  Campaign,   122; 


investigation  of  the  steel  strike, 
231,  232;  criticism  of,  232;  steel 
report,  299. 

Intercommunion  between  American 
churches,  70. 

Interdenominational  organizations, 
186. 

Intermediate  divisions  in  the  denomi- 
nations, 253;  lack  of  coordination 
between,  253;  need  of  readjust- 
ment, 254. 

Intermediate  units,  significance  of  in 
Presbyterian  churches,  251. 

International  affairs,  40;  new  spirit 
in,  336;  friendliness,  51;  situation, 
176,  304;  organization,  need  of 
some  permanent  religious,  274. 

International  Association  of  Daily 
Vacation  Bible  Schools,  241. 

International  Committee  of  the  Y. 
M.  C.  A.,  103,  241,  250. 

International  Council,  187. 

International  Justice  and  Goodwill, 
Federal  Council  Commission  on, 
261. 

International  Missionary  Council,  53. 

International  Sunday  School  Associa- 
tion, 240;  union  of,  with  Sunday 
School  Council,  240. 

International  Sunday  School  Council, 
90. 

International  Sunday  School  Council 
of  Religious  Education,  240,  241, 
306. 

International  Sunday  School  Lesson 
Committee,  240,  241. 

Internationalism,  125. 

Institution,  highchurch  view  of  the 
significance  of,  178. 

Institutional  Christianity,  11;  un- 
christian character  of,  l72. 

Institutional  church,  201-203,  220,  222, 
223;  work  of,  202;  different  theories 
of,  202;  difficulties  of  in  Catholic 
or  Jewish  neighborhoods,  203. 

Investor,  164. 

Invisible  Church,  174. 

Iowa,  311. 

Irish,  Irishmen,  49,  64. 

Irwin,  145. 

Israel,  97,  160. 

Italian,   Italians,  35,  36,  37,  68,  228. 

Italy,  269. 

James,  William,  148. 
Japan,  47,  50,  51,  54,  56,  263,  264,  294. 
Japanese,  36,  49,  168;   in  California, 
52. 


INDEX 


369 


Jehovah  Conference,  255. 

Jesuits,  68. 

Jesus  Christ,  33,  43,  58,  138,  143,  145, 
149,  153,  156,  157,  160,  171,  184, 
264,  292,  296,  355;  see  also  Christ. 

Jesus'  test  for  our  modem  world,  335. 

Jesus'  view  of  the  ideal  society,  169. 

Jews,  50,  66,  102,  106,  110,  139,  274; 
smaJl  proportion  of,  in  synagogues, 
69;  relation  between  Protestants 
and,  272. 

John  the  Baptist,  285. 

Joint  Commission  on  War  Production 
Communities,    108. 

Joint  Committee  on  Foreign  Lan- 
guage  Publications,  240. 

Joint  Committees  of  Home  Missions 
Council  and  Council  of  Women  for 
Home  Missions,  237,  240. 

Joint  Synod  of  Ohio,  255. 

Jones,  Ashby,  108. 

Jones,  Dr.,  296. 

Judicatory,  77,  249. 

Junior  League,  30. 

Justice,  159. 

Juvenile  Courts,  218. 

Kaftan,  Theodor,  273. 

Kansas,  311. 

Kelly,  Robert  L.,  127,  317. 

Kentucky,  310. 

Kingdom  of  God,  11,  20,  43,  84,  124, 

130,  139,  145,  149,  151,  153,  159,  160, 

165,  264,  291,  352. 
Knights  of  Columbvis,  110,  268. 
Knox,  George  William,  74,  88. 
Korea,  Koreans,  49,  52,  56. 
Kwannon,  55. 

Labor,  43,  232,  298,  330,  334;  unions, 
38,  231 ;  movement,  40 ;  as  a  spir- 
itual movement,  43;  Sunday,  2?71 ; 
leaders,  286;  new  educational  inter- 
est of,  298. 

Labor  Temple,  36,  230;  work  of,  231. 

Lachmann,  Vera,  281. 

Laidlaw,  Walter,  67,  69,  72. 

Lambeth,  184,  188;  Quadrilateral, 
182;  recommendation  as  to  Chri.s- 
tian  Councils,  188;  Conference,  273. 

Languages  used  in  church  services,  65. 

Lapp,  John  A.,  154.  232. 

Latter  Day  Saints,  66. 

Lawrence,  Bishop,  101,  104. 

Lawrence  strike,  232. 

Lay  leadership,  304. 

Laymen,  place  of  in  American 
Church,  78. 


Leaders,  finding  and  training,  302-326; 
need  of  group  thinking  among,  338. 

Leadership,  25,  303,  326;  problem  of 
educational,  in  Protestantism,  302; 
need  of  lay,  304,  326;  in  the  Church, 
308;  need  of  enlightened  and 
imited,  354. 

League  of  Nations,  54,  57-60,  88,  115, 
122,  125,  168;  analogy  to  Inter- 
church  World  Movement,  125. 

Lenine,  39. 

Liaison  officer,  269;  need  of  in  Chri.s- 
tian  Church,  269;  effect  upon  Chris- 
tian unity,  269;  need  of  in  religious 
thinking,  337. 

Liberals,  147. 

Liberty  Loans,  96. 

Library  Association,  96. 

Life  Work  Committee  of  the  Council 
of  Church  Boards,  127. 

Limitation  of  armaments,  58. 

Lin  Yin,  54. 

Lippmann,  Walter,  337,  339. 

Listener's  Bench,  300. 

Literature,  need  of  a  new  Christian, 
298. 

Lithuanian,  68. 

Little  Italy,  35. 

Liturgical  worship,  295. 

Liturgy,  185. 

Living  Church,  352. 

Local  church,  74;  importance  of,  195- 
200;  statistics  as  to,  196;  standards 
for,  196;  effect  of  changes  in,  on 
life  of  the  ministr>',  220;  relation 
to  the  Associations,  246. 

Local  congregation,  305. 

Local  cooperation,  agencies  of,  186. 

Local  federations,  257 ;  as  a  means  of 
overcoming  doctrinal  differences, 
257;  see  also  Federations  of 
Churches. 

Local  preachers,  30. 

Locating  ministers,  lack  of  adequate 
system  for,  132. 

London,  23. 

Long,  24. 

Long  Island,  246. 

Lord's  Day,  99. 

Lord's  Supper,  182. 

Los  Angeles.  145. 

Louisville,  217,  272. 

Louvain  County,  218. 

Lo\T,  59;  need  of  renewed  confidence 
in  its  efficacy,  60. 

Low  churchmen,  180. 

Lowell,  President,  322. 

Lusk  Committee,  39. 


370 


INDEX 


Lutheran,   Lutherans,  20,  65,  66,  67, 
70,  84,  85,   102,   111,   124,   200,  211 
232,  253,  317;  divisions  among,  85 
union     of,     85;     highchurch,     179 
movements  for  unity  among,  255. 

Lutheran  Church,   see   United   Luth- 
eran Church  in  America. 

Lutheran  Free  Church,  255. 

Lutheranism,  72. 

Lutheran    National    Commission    for 
Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Welfare,  102. 

Lutheran  Synod  of  Buffalo,  255. 

Lynching,  167. 

Mackenzie,  William  Douglas,  108, 
112,  279. 

Magyars,  228. 

Maine,  55,  210. 

Manchuria,  56. 

Manhattan,  214,  215. 

Manning,  182,  211,  256. 

Maryland,  198. 

Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,  108. 

Massachusetts,  30,  104,  207,  210,  218. 

Massachusetts  State  Federation  of 
Churches,  207,  210. 

Mass  production,  170. 

Master  of  Pedagogy,  323. 

Mayo,  Katharine,  95. 

McAfee,  Joseph,  123,  208. 

McConnell,  F.  J.,  112. 

McCulloch,  Rhoda,  27,  112. 

McDowell,  Bishop,  100. 

Meletius,  259. 

Mennonites,  66,  87. 

Mercantile  marine,  44. 

Methodism,  73,  74,  208;  argument  for 
a  world-wide,  273. 

Methodist,  Methodists,  29,  57,  65,  66, 
70,  73,  78,  82,  85,  88,  102,  212,  221, 
223,  232,  259,  311,  312,  317,  320,  338; 
movement  for  union  between,  256; 
Southern,  290. 

Methodist  Centenary,  124,  252. 
Methodist  Church,   30,   67,   110,   130, 
132,  215,  251,  254,  318;  South,  29; 
attitude    toward    women,     30;     in 
Canada,  237. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  70,  198, 
262;  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  departments  of, 
227;  Committee  on  Conservation 
and  Advance  of  the  Council  of  the 
Boards  of  Benevolence  of  the,  120, 
232. 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
198,  233,  262;  Board  of  Missions  of 


the,  234;  Centenary  Movement  of 
the,  120. 
Mexican,  Mexicans,  36,  68,  240. 
Mexican  border,  94. 
Mexico,  56,  264. 
Michigan,  311. 
Michigan  State  Agricultural  College, 

312 
Middle  West,  72.  ^ 
Migrant  groups,  237. 
Minister,    Ministers,    number    of,    65, 
66 ;  salaries  of,  65 ;  as  preacher,  221 ; 
function  of  the  local,  305. 
Ministerial  Alliance  of  Denver,  176. 
Ministerial   education,   generous  pro- 
vision for  in  America,  317;  recent 
developments  in,  317-326;   need  of 
providing  for  men  without  college 
education,     323;     work     done     by 
Methodist  Church  in,  324;  need  of 
extension  work  in,  324,  325. 
Ministry,  196,  321 ;  candidates  for  the, 
127;   need   of  a   reconsideration   of 
the   function  of,  220-223;    practical 
changes    in    life    of,    220;    need    of 
theoretical    adjustment,    220;    con- 
trast between  theory  and  practice 
of,  220;  difficulties  of,  221;  enlarge- 
ment of  the  work  of,  221;   in  the 
foreign  field,  221-222;  at  home,  222; 
different  forms  of  in  Calvin's  plan, 
222;   of  women,  222;   original  con- 
ception   of    in    Protestantism,   222; 
training  for,  315;  recruiting  for,  316; 
call  to  the  Christian,  355;  number 
of  men  entering  without  thorough 
preparation,  322. 
Mirable,  198. 
Miracles,  142. 
Missionary     Education     Movement, 

241. 
Missionary  task  of  the  Church,  40-42; 

agencies  of  the  churches,  79,  133. 
Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist 

Church  in  Canada,  237. 
Missions,  English-speaking,  227;  city 
and  foreign-speaking,  227;  Depart- 
ment of  Missions  and  Church  Ex- 
tension of  the  Domestic  and  For- 
eign Missionary  Society  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
U.  S.  A.,  227;  American  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society,  depart- 
ments of,  227;  Missionary  Society 
of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Can- 
ada, 237;  history  of,  293;  signifi- 
cance of,  293;  as  a  subject  of 
instruction,     319;     supervision     of 


INDEX 


371 


practical  work,  319;  see  also  Boards 
of;  Home  missions;  P'oreign  mis- 
sions. 

Missouri,  72,  198,  212,  311. 

Mode,  Peter  G.,  63. 

Modern  industry  and  the  church,  37- 
40. 

Mohammed,  19. 

Mohammedan  countries,  50. 

Monastic  order,  247. 

Montana,  210,  240,  254. 

Montgomery,  Mrs.  William  A.,  30. 

Moody,  Dwipht,  285. 

Moral  differences,  problems  raised  by, 
158. 

Moravian  Church,  262;  Larger  Life 
Movement  of  the,  120. 

Mormonism,  69,  75. 

Morse,  R.  C,  243. 

Mother  church  with  affiliated  church- 
es, 201,  203,  204. 

Mott,  John  R.,  53,  272. 

Muldoon,  Bishop,  268. 

Music,  222. 

Mystical  Christianity,  83. 

Mystical  element  in  religion,  146. 

Mysticism,  76. 

Nassau  County,  246. 

National  Baptist  Convention  (Afri- 
can), 262. 

National  Board  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A., 
103,  241,  250. 

National  Catholic  War  Council,  181, 
268. 

National  Catholic  Welfare  Council, 
268,  271. 

National  cemetery,  100. 

National  Church  in  India,  273;  in 
China,  273. 

National  churches,  need  of  effective, 
273. 

National  Conference  on  Workers' 
Education,  298. 

National  Council  of  Congregational 
Churches,  131. 

National  Council  of  the  Scottish  Y. 
M.  C.  A.,  247. 

National  Councils,  187. 

Nationalism,   125. 

Nationality,  28,  45,  345;  problem  of, 
42,  44 ;  Christian  view  of,  168. 

National  Lutheran  Council,  255. 

National  Missionary  Council  of  In- 
dia, 53. 

National  organization  of  the  churches, 

possible  forms  of,  274. 
National  self-consciousness,  49. 


National  Training  School,  324. 
Nations,  Chn.stian  view  of  the  rela- 
tion of,  168. 
Native  church,  51. 
Nature,  144. 
Navy,  46. 

Near  East,  48,  50,  56,  264. 
Near  East  Relief  Commission,  55. 
Near  East  Relief  Fund,  56. 
Negro,    Negroes,   35,    37,    43,    50,    70, 
167,  168,  240;  problem.  37,  51;  con- 
gregations, number  and  strength  of, 
68;  churches.  70;  minister,  attitude 
toward    in    North    and    South,    70; 
Americans,  237. 
New    American    Division    of    Inter- 
church  World  Movement,  228. 
New  Americans,  237. 
Newark,  218. 
Nebraska,  311. 
New  Britain,  35. 
New  England,  64,  72,  81,  83. 
New  England  Unitarians,  257. 
New  Jersey  Chamber  of  Commerce, 

298. 
New  School,  71. 
New  social  order,  153. 
New  Testament,  86,  202. 
New  Testament  Greek,  311. 
New  theology,  143,  149,  284. 
New   York   City,   34,   35,   36.  41,  69, 
201,    203.    214,    216,    219,    229,    237, 
254,    272,    294,    304,    318,    319,    335, 
345. 
New    York    City    Missions    Council, 

215. 
New   York   Federation   of  Churches, 

214. 
New  York  Presbytery,  204. 
New  York  School  for  Social  Research, 

298. 
New  Zealand,  259. 
Nicene  Creed.  182. 
Nicholai,  Bishop.  5,  59.  259. 
Non-Episcopal   churches,   185. 
Non-Episcopal  communions,  184. 
Non-interference,  56. 
Non-liturgical  churches,  185. 
Non-liturgical  worship,  295. 
Normal  schools,  289. 
North  Carolina,  230. 
Norwegian      Lutheran      Church      of 

America,  255. 
Norwegians,  68. 
Novelty,  198. 

North,  Frank  Mason,  104. 
Northern  as  an  ecclesiastical  and  as 
a  geographical  term,  70. 


372 


INDEX 


Northern  Baptist  Convention,  30.  57, 
262;  General  Board  of  Promotion 
of  the,  82,  120,  252;  New  World 
Movement  of  the,  120,  124,  252; 
American  Baptist  Home  Mission 
Society,  departments  of,  227;  see 
also  Baptists;   Baptists,  Northern. 

Northern  Baptists,  see  Baptists, 
Northern. 

Northern  Europe,  35. 

Northern  Presbyterian,  71. 

Ochrida,  Bishop  of,  259. 

O'Connell,  Cardinal,  271. 

Odell,  Joseph   H,  92. 

Official  denominational  cooperation, 
need  of,  189. 

Ohio,  132,  197,  198,  218,  311. 

Ohio  State   Federation,  218. 

Ohio  State  University,  218,  312. 

Older  man  in  the  ministry,  204, 
222. 

Oldham,  J.  H.,  115. 

Old  School,  71. 

One  Big  Union,  39. 

Ontario,  Bishop  of,  259. 

Open  forum,  90,  231. 

Orders,  Roman  Catholic,  181,  247; 
analogy  in  the  Associations,  247. 

Oregon,  198,  218,  326,  333. 

Organic  and  federal  union,  187;  rela- 
tion between  illustrated  in  Ameri- 
can history,  187. 

Organic  union,  177,  185,  188,  258-260; 
meaning  of,  177;  relation  to  other 
movements  for  unity,  187;  relation 
to  spiritual  union,  187;  refusal  of 
the  Pope  to  discuss,  258;  different 
phases  of  the  movement,  258;  see 
also  Union. 

Organist,  222. 

Organization,  of  the  American 
churches,  75;  spiritual  significance 
of,  176,  353;  need  of  a  central  or- 
ganization for  group  thinking,  342; 
for  collective  thinking,  possible 
types  of,  342-344;  definition  of,  344; 
function  of,  344;  personnel  of,  344; 
relation  to  other  committees  for 
group  study,  344;  subjects  to  be 
considered  by,  345;  advantages  of 
an  official  committee,  343. 

Organized  church,  function  of  in  so- 
ciety, 191;  educational  significance 
of,  191. 

Orthodoxy,  84,  142,  179,  317,  320. 

O'Ryan,  General,  60. 

Over-churching,   198. 


Pacifism,  161. 

Pacifists,  97,  160. 

Pan-African  movement,  50. 

Panama  Conference,  53. 

Parents,  need  of  training  Christian, 
304. 

Paris,  58. 

Parish,  77;  system,  199;  absence  of  in 
Protestant   denominations,    199. 

Parks,  Leighton,  3. 

Parochial   schools,   20,   85. 

Par  Standard,   196. 

Party  system,  absence  of,  from  the 
American  Church,  78. 

Pastor,  222. 

Pastoral  work,  222;  letter,  271;  the- 
ology, 318. 

Patriotism,  170;  Christian  view  of, 
170. 

Paulist  Fathers,  68. 

Paulist  Press,  288. 

Pennsylvania,  72,  218,  311. 

Pension  funds,   129. 

"Pentecost   of  Calamity,"  168. 

Periodical  press,  300. 

Perry,  Bishop  James  DeWolf,  Jr.,  272. 

Perry,  Commodore,  47. 

Pershing,  General,  95,  106. 

Philadelphia,  260. 

Philadelphia  Conference  of  1920,  258. 

Philadelphia  plan  for  organic  union, 

nature  of,  260;  reasons  for  failure, 

260. 
Philanthropy,    organized,   relation   to 

the  churches,  270. 
Phillips  Academy,  41. 
Philosophy,  336;  of  religion,  311,  314. 
Physical       sciences,       336;       results 

achieved    through    cooperation    in, 

327,  328. 
Pierrefeu,  339. 
Pinchot,  197. 

Piper,  David  R.,  198,  207,  208,  210. 
Pittsburgh,  217,  218. 
Pittsburgh     Employers'     Association, 

24. 
Plan  of  union,  209. 
Political    education,    contribution    of 

the  Church  to,  300. 
Politics,  163,  314. 
Poland,  49,  56. 
Poles,  68,  228,  351. 
Pope,  159,  174,  256,  258. 
Popular  education  in  China,  49. 
Portland,  218. 
Portuguese,  69. 
Post-war  psychology,  122. 


INDEX 


373 


Practical  theology,  318. 
Prague,  226. 
Prayer,  19,  283. 

Premillennarian,  145. 

Premillennarianism,  145. 

Presbyterian,  Presbyterians,  65,  66,  78, 
83, "88,  101,  204,  209,  221,  223,  227, 
232,  259,  294,  312,  317,  318,  320,  324, 
338;  Northern,  71;  mini.^tr>',  condi- 
tions of,   131 ;   highchurch,  179. 

Presbyterian  Church,  churches,  29,  67, 
70,  77,  110,  124,  129,  130,  146,  200, 
215,  227,  230,  233,  251,  252,  318,  326; 
Southern,  119,  257;  proposed  cen- 
tral Council  in,  253 ;  movement  for 
union  between,  256;  doctrinal  dif- 
ferences in,  257. 

Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada,  237; 
Board  of  Home  Missions  and  So- 
cial Service  of  the,  237. 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S., 
198,  256,  262;  Progressive  Program 
of  the,  120. 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A., 
57,  198,  256,  262;  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the,  70,  143, 
252,  260;  New  Era  Movement  of 
the,  120,  124,  252;  Department  of 
Vacancy  and  Supply  of  the,  132; 
Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the, 
198,  226,  228,  272;  departments  of 
the,  228-230;  Woman's  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  the,  234; 
Woman's  Board  of  Home  Missions 
of  the,  234;  Executive  Commission 
of  the,  252;  Board  of  Christian 
Education  of  the,  253;  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  the,  253; 
Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  and 
Sustentation,  253;  Board  of  Na- 
tional Missions  of  the,  253. 

Presbyterianism,  72. 

Presbytery,  42,  70,  77,  132,  204,  250, 
251,  254;  powers  of,  229;  of  New 
York,  231. 

Pre-seminary  studies,  323. 

Primitive  Christianity,  208. 

Primitive  Methodist  Church,  262. 

Princeton,  58,  320,  322. 

Private  judgment,  179,  180. 

Privately  supported  colleges  and  uni- 
versities, 310;  teaching  of  religion 
in,  312-317. 

Profit  sharing,  336. 

Progress,  191. 

Prohibition,    122,   171. 

Proletariat,  352. 

Property,  285. 


Protestant,  Protestants,  102,  205; 
Evangelical,  7;  element,  relative 
strength  of  compared  with  Roman 
Catholics,  67;  ministry,  its  present 
condition  and  prospects,  127-133; 
Reformation,  139,  142;  view  of 
radical,  160;  churches,  relation  to 
organized  philanthropy,  270;  ideal 
of  religious  education,  282;  ideal, 
287;  religious  education,  value  of, 
293. 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
U.  S.  A.,  71,  83,  129,  256,  266,  293, 
317,  318;  Department  of  Nation- 
Wide  Campaign  of  the  Presiding 
Bishop  and  Council  of  the,  102, 
120;  Department  of  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  of  the  Domestic 
and  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of 
the,  227;  Presiding  Bishop  and 
Council  of  the,  252;  Commissions 
on  Christian  Unity  and  Social  Serv- 
ice, 262;  see  also  Episcopal  Church. 

Protestant  Episcopal  Seminary  at 
Alexandria,  320. 

Protestant  Episcopal  Synod  of  New 
England,   57. 

Protestantism,  137,  174,  292,  294; 
American,  8,  10;  meaning  of  the 
term,  8;  as  the  church  of  the  well- 
to-do,  76;  place  of  religious  experi- 
ence in  the  theory  of,  143;  divisions 
of,  180;  original  ideal  of,  302;  see 
also  American   Protestantism. 

Providence  of  God,  353. 

Provincialism,  337;  of  the  American 
Church,  72;  of  American  Christian- 
ity, 73. 

Psychology,  314;  of  religion,  321. 

Ptolemaic  astronomy,  150. 

Publicity,  189,  217,  227. 

Public   institutions,   218. 

Public  schools,  289,  297 ;  Bible  in,  289. 

Public  opinion,  lack  of  adequate  or- 
gans for  the  formation  of,  in  the 
denominations,  251 ;  responsibility 
of  the  Church  for  forming,  171, 
295-301. 

Puritan,  64;  New  England,  72;  ideal, 
74;  tradition,  81. 

Puritanism,  64,  74,   159. 

Purposes  and  beliefs,  150. 

Quadrennial   meeting  of  the  Federal 

Council,  264. 
Queens  Borough,  214. 

Race,  28,  163,  344,  345,  350;  problem 
of,    42;    consciousness,    50;    as    a 


374 


INDEX 


menace   to  peace,   50;   significance 
for     American      Christianity,     70; 
Christian  view  of,  168,  170. 
Radical,    radicals,    160;     propaganda, 
39;  Protestantism,  256;  movement, 
limitations    of,    because    of    its    re- 
striction to   class,  351 ;    because   of 
its    lack    of    historical    perspective, 
352. 
Rauschenbusch,  Walter,  90. 
Recruiting  for  the  ministry,  305,  316. 
Recruits,  283. 
Red  Cross,  55,  96. 
Reformation,  139,  142. 
Religion,  5;  unifying  influence  of,  5; 
of  the  average  American,  9,  15-33, 
34,  36;  of  American  young  men,  15- 
23;  of  older  men,    23;  of  American 
women,    27-31 ;    of    American    chil- 
dren, 31-33;  decay  of  in  the  home, 
31;  teaching  of,  in  schools,  79;  in 
the    new    intellectual    environment, 
137-152;  as  a  permanent  human  in- 
terest, 147;  different  types  of,  148; 
rational   element   in,    179;    what   is 
meant  by  appeal  to  reason  in,  179. 
Religious    corporations,    law    govern- 
ing, 80. 
Religious  education,  20,  147,  218,  222, 
235,   279,   321,   342;    revival    of   in- 
terest in,  279-280;  imperfect  meth- 
ods   in,    282;    Protestant    ideal    of, 
282;  as  evangelism,  283;  of  laymen, 
neglect    of    in    Protestantism,    288; 
attention  given  by  Roman  Catho- 
lics to,  288;  content  of  an  adequate, 
290,  291 ;  of  laymen,  agencies  avail- 
able   for,    308-316;    history    of    in 
America,   309;    need   of   a   compre- 
hensive survey  of  facilities  for  lay 
workers,   324. 
Religious  Education  Association,  311 ; 
important  work  done  by,  241,  242; 
cooperation    of    Roman    Catholics 
and  Jews  with  Protestants  in,  272. 
Religious  experience,  Protestant  type 

of,  148;  Catholic  type  of,  148. 
Religious    liberty,    139. 
Religious  literature,  287. 
Religious  press,  importance  of,  299. 
Reformed,  65,  66,  70. 
Reformed    Church    in    America,    256, 
262;  Progress  Campaign  of  the,  120. 
Reformed  Church  in  the  U.  S.,  256, 
262;    Forward    Movement    of    the, 
120. 
Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  262. 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,   262. 


Reformers,  139,  141,  180,  232. 
Reform  legislation,  270. 
Relations    with    Religious    Bodies   in 
Europe,  Federal  Council  Commis- 
sion on,  262. 
Repentance,  284,  285. 
Representation,    immediate    in    Con- 
gregational    churches,     249,     250; 
mediate,   250. 
Required  instruction  in  religion,  314. 
Rescue  Missions,  286. 
Research,  303,  321,  327,  342;  need  of, 

in  religion,  316. 
Reunion  in  the  Presbyterian  and  Re- 
formed family,  256. 
Revelation,  332. 
Revival  movement,  74. 
Richards,  Timothy,  88. 
Ritschl,  Albrecht,  159,  160. 
Robinson,  James  Harvey,  327. 
Rochester,  218. 

Roman  Catholic,  Roman  Catholics, 
20,  65-66,  102,  106,  110,  178,  205, 
274,  288;  number  of  in  America, 
66;  basis  of  estimation  for  church 
membership,  67;  element,  relative 
strength  of  compared  with  Protes- 
tants, 67 ;  view  of  church  unity,  173 ; 
reasons  against,  173-174;  orders, 
181;  relation  to  Protestants,  271, 
272. 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  72,  76,  150, 
173,  289;  in  America,  need  of  a 
sympathetic  treatment  of,  68;  its 
social  outlook,  75;  unity  in,  181, 
268;  differences  in,  181,  268;  Na- 
tional Catholic  War  Council,  181, 
268;  National  Catholic  Welfare 
Council,  268,  271. 
Roman    Catholicism,    137,    293;    see 

also  Catholicism. 
Rome,  8,  142,  159,  174,  177,  179,  180, 

258,  294,  341. 
Rotation  of  ofRce,  251. 
Roundy,  Rodney  W.,  237. 
Rowntree,  Seebohm,  165. 
Rural  Community  Work,  227. 
Russia,  35,  40,  49,  56,  352. 
Russians,  36,  228,  351. 
Ryan,  John  A.,  154,  232. 

Sabbath  Association,  270. 
Sacrament,  Sacraments,  21,   146,  182, 

288,   332. 
Sacramentarian   Christianity,   83. 
Sacramentarianism ,    81 . 
Saint,  181. 
Salaries  of  ministers,  65,  129,  196. 


INDEX 


375 


Salvation,  151. 

Salvation  Army,  224,  246,  247,  286. 

San  P>ancisco,  35. 

San  Francisco  Presbytery,  229. 

Saviour,  101,  151,  160,  264,  292. 

Scab,  39. 

Scandinavian  churches,  273. 

Schaff,  Philip,  63. 

School  of  Pedagogy,  323. 

Schools  of  religion,  311;  in  state  uni- 
versities, 311. 

Science  and  the  Cliurch,  140;  and  re- 
ligion, 142;  limitations  of  pure,  144; 
destructive  character  of  modem, 
145;  practical  effects  of,  149;  effects 
of  upon  the  Church's  function,  149; 
consequences  of,  for  the  Church  as 
a  teaching  body,  150-152  spiritual 
qualities  of,   152. 

Scientific  movement,  effect  upon  the 
ideals  of  the  older  Protestantism, 
140-144;  positive  contribution  to 
religious  faith,  147-149;  influence 
upon  education,  319. 

Scotch,  64. 

Scotland,  74,  109,  307. 

Scripture,   Scriptures,   142,   182. 

Sea  Coast  Missionary  Society,  55. 

Secretarial  Council,  262. 

Secretary  of  War,  107. 

Secular  educational  institutions,  sig- 
nificance of  for  religion,  241. 

Secularized  education,  309;  problems 
presented   by,  297. 

Secular  press,  299. 

Seminaries,   317. 

Senate,  47. 

Separation  of  church  and  state,  79. 

Service,  189. 

Serving  love,  works  of,  266. 

Settlements,  324. 

Seventh  Day   Baptist  Churches,  262. 

Seventh  Day  Baptist  General  Con- 
ference, New  Forward  Movement 
of  the,  120. 

Shanghai,  50. 

Shantung,  52,  296. 

Shaw,  Bernard,  24. 

Shaw,  Lord  of  Dunfermline,  60. 

Shenton,   Herbert  N.,  112. 

Shriver,  W.  P.,  40. 

Silesia,  56. 

Silver  Bay,  316. 

Sin,   19. 

Slav,  Slavic,  37,  68. 

Slovak,  Slovaks,  36,  68. 

Slovenian,  69. 

Small,  A.  W.,  232,  341. 


Social  and  Religious  Surveys,  Com- 
mittee on,  226. 

Social  Christianity,  20,  21,  41,  75;  in 
the  East,  52;  aspects  of  Christian 
missions,  52;  settlements,  90;  sal- 
vation, 145;  ideal,  149;  responsi- 
bility of  the  Church,  false  concep- 
tion of,  157;  Roman  Catholic 
theory  of,  158,  159;  Protestant 
theory  of,  159;  mission  of  the 
Church,  169-172;  application  of  the 
Gospel,  201 ;  consciousness,  201 ; 
science,  need  of  cooperation  in,  328; 
difficulty  in  securing  such  coopera- 
tion, 329-330;  contribution  of  re- 
ligion to,  330. 

Social  Gospel,  139,  283,  285;  relation 
to  individual  conversion,  285;  as 
test  of  the  sincerity  of  repentance, 
285. 

Social  Ideals  of  the  Churches,  24,  89, 
151. 

Socialism,  352. 

Socialist,  Socialists,  7,  297,  351 ;  ortho- 
dox, 39;  extreme,  39;  clubs,  175; 
attempt  to  secure  unity,  351,  352. 

Social-Religious  Workers'  Course, 
324. 

Social  Service,  227,  232;  Department 
of,  230;  Commissions,  158,  232, 
262,  304;  Committee,  Committees, 
230,   232. 

Social  Service  Commission  of  Disci- 
ples, 198. 

Social  Service,  Commission  on  the 
Church  and,  of  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil, 166,  232,  261,  270,  343. 

Society  of  Jesus,  181. 

Sociology,  321. 

Soderblom,   Archbishop,  5,  274,  275. 

Son  of  God,  184. 

Spanish,  36,  68. 

Spanish  War,  106. 

Spanish-speaking  peoples,  237. 

Specialist,  336,  337. 

Specialization,  need  of  in  Christian 
work,  224;  question  whether  it  has 
been  carried  too  far,  232;  effect 
of  upon  religious  education,  309; 
in  seminaries.  321. 

Speer,  Robert  E.,  52,  104,  112,  272. 

Speers,  Guthrie,  18. 

Spencer,  144. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  171. 

Spirit  of  God,  11,  151,  152,  184,  185, 
292,  331,  353. 

South  Africa,  60. 

South    End    House,    319. 


m 


INDEX 


Southern  as  an  ecclesiastical  and  as 
a  geographical  term,  70. 

Southern  Baptists,  see  Baptists, 
Southern. 

Southern  Methodists,  see  Methodists. 

Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  see 
Presbyterian  Church  and  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  U.  S. 

Southwest  Bohemian  Presbytery,  230. 

Sovereignty,  160,  179. 

Soviet  Republic,  352. 

Standardization  Committee,  309. 

State,  159,  289;  and  church,  80; 
theory  of  the  modem,  160;  individ- 
ualistic theory  of,  176;  German 
theory  of,  179;  federations  of 
churches,  218,  254;    church,  273. 

State  Agricultural  College,  Connecti- 
cut, 218. 

Stated  meetings  of  ecclesiastical 
bodies,  educational  possibilities  in, 
326. 

State  Federation  of  Ohio,  197. 

State  universities,  289,  297,  309,  310, 
314;  attitude  toward  religious  edu- 
cation, 310;  attitude  of  Christian 
people  toward,  310;  methods  of 
cooperation  with,  311. 

Stelzle,    Charles,    230,    231. 

Stevenson,  J.  Ross,  108. 

St.  George's  Episcopal  Church,  201. 

St.  Louis,  218,  345. 

Stockbridge,  220. 

Stoddard,  T.  L.,  43. 

Stowell,  J.  S.,  36. 

Strikes:  car  strike,  153,  232;  steel 
strike,  166. 

Students'  Cosmopolitan  Club,  36, 
59. 

Student  Movement,  274. 

Students,  numbers  of  in  institutions 
of  higher  education,  310. 

Student  Volunteer    Movement,   286. 

Suffering  as  a  teacher  of  brotherhood, 
54;  different  views  of  the  signifi- 
cance of,  54-55. 

Suffolk  County,  246. 

Summer  schools,  315,  325;  and  con- 
ferences, 325. 

Sunday,  25. 

Sunday,  Billy,  285. 

Sunday  school,  schools,  26,  32,  41, 
195,  232,  235,  280,  281,  282,  289,  290, 
291,  294,  296,  303,  310;  number  of, 
65,  66,  68;  membership  of,  65-66, 
68;  agencies,  79;  workers'  interde- 
nominational associations  of,  240; 
place  of  in  religious  education,  287; 


importance  of,  288;  graded  lesson 
series,  290;  numbers  in,  305. 

Sunday  School  Council,  union  of  with 
International  Sunday  School  Asso- 
ciation,  240. 

Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical 
Denominations,  240. 

Suomi  Synod,  256. 

Superintendent  for  immigration,  227, 

Supply,  committees   on,   132. 

Support  of  religion  in  the  Protestant 
Church,  76;  in  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church,  76. 

Survey,  Surveys,  42,  225;  what  is 
meant  by,  225;  conditions  of  an  ef- 
fective, 225;  purposes  of,  225;  of 
Interchurch  World  Movement,  225; 
criticism  of,  226;  of  Y.  M.  C. 
A.,  226;  of  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  226;  dif- 
ferent kinds  of,  226;  work  of  mis- 
sion boards,  226. 

Swing,  Alice  Mead,  159. 

Switzerland,  273,  350. 

Synod,   132,  254. 

Syria,  35,  56. 

Syrians,  49. 

Systematic  teaching,  need  of  in 
Protestantism,  287. 

Systematic  theology,  318. 

Talbot,  19. 

Tariff,  44. 

Tawney,  R.  H.,  165. 

Taxation,  exemption  of  church  from, 
79. 

Tax  supported  institutions,  141. 

Taylor,  Alva  W.,   198. 

Teacher,  importance  of,  10;  as  evan- 
gelist, 283;  function  of,  303;  im- 
portance of  personality  of,  314. 

Teaching  of  religion  in  schools,  79; 
ministry,  222;  work  of  the  Church, 
279;  of  the  pulpit,  288. 

Teachers  College,  324. 

Texas,  50,  311. 

Temperance.  232,  262. 

Tennessee,    198,   230. 

Thanksgiving   proclamation,  80. 

Theocratic    government,    77. 

Theocratic  state,  74,  159. 

Theological  differences,  71,  331. 

Theological  education,  tendency  of,  to 
become  interdenominational,  320; 
need  of  a  comprehensive  study  of, 
323. 

Theological  seminaries,  146,  280,  307, 
317,  336;  number  of,  317;  method 
of  control   in,  317,  318;   under  de- 


INDEX 


377 


nominational  control,  318;  inde- 
pendent, 318;  character  of  in  the 
United  States,  318 ;  theology  taught 
in,  318;  tendency  to  move  to  large 
cities,  319;  representation  of  other 
denominations  on  faculties  of,  320. 

Theological  Society,  320. 

Theology,  291,  321;  as  a  college  sub- 
ject, 309. 

Thinking  together,  327-345;  distin- 
guished from  thinking  alike,  331. 

Thompson.  Charles  L.,  226,  227,  308. 

Toledo,  218. 

Toledo  Federation  of  Churches,  218. 

Training  schools,  denominational, 
324. 

Trinity,   182. 

Trotsky,  39. 

Tulsa,   167,  344. 

Turner,  Fennell  P.,  236. 

Trustees,  200,  223;  function  of,  200. 


Ukrainian,  36. 
Uniformity,  180. 

Union,  federal,  177;  organic,  177; 
progress  toward,  187;  of  home  and 
foreign  missions,  233;  movement 
for  between  Baptists,  256;  move- 
ment for  between  Methodists,  256; 
failure  of  movement  for  between 
Northern  and  Southern  Presby- 
terians, 256;  between  Presbyterian 
families,  difficulties  in  the  way  of, 
256;  the  race  difficulty,  256;  theo- 
logical difficulties,  256;  movement 
in  Canada,  258;  in  Australia,  258; 
in  New  Zealand,  258;  organic  and 
federal,  258-269;  movements  for 
Christian,  in  Europe,  273;  difficulty 
of  securing,  by  democratic  meth- 
ods, 350;  nature  of  in  democracy, 
351. 

Union  church,  87,  206-208;  what  is 
meant  by,  206 ;  numbers  of,  207 ; 
advantages  of,  207;  future  of,  207, 
208,   criticism   of,  208. 

Union  Hospitals,  52. 

Union  School  of  Religion,  304. 

Union  schools,  52. 

Union  Settlement,  34,  319. 

Union,  The,  351. 

Union  Theological  Seminary,  35,  304, 
317,  318,  320,  325. 

Unitarian,  Unitarians,  66,  71,  82,  87, 
257;  doctrinal  difficulties  with  Con- 
gregationalists,  257. 

Unitarianism,  205. 


United  Brethren  in  Christ,  65,  66,  70, 
87,  262;  United  Enlistment  Move- 
ment of  the  Church  of  the,  120. 

United  Church  in  Canada,  259. 

United  Church  of  Christ  in  America, 
260. 

United  Danish  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  of  America,  255,  256. 

United  Evangelical  Church,  66,  87, 
262;  Forward  Movement  of  the, 
120. 

United  Lutheran  Church  in  America, 
255,  262,  266,  267;  Executive  Board 
of  the,  252;  consultative  relation 
assumed  to  Federal  Council,  267. 

United  Presbyterian  Church,  256, 
262;  New  World  Movement  of  the, 
120. 

United  Society  of  Christian  En- 
deavor, 241. 

United  States,  53,  54,  58,  63,  187,  207, 
236,  237,  269,  353;  population  of, 
66;  Department  of  Labor,  226; 
War  Department,  272. 

United  States  Census  of  Religious 
Bodies,  63,  64,  65,  66,  67,  69,  83, 
129,  255. 

United  States  Steel  Corporation,  129. 

United  Synod  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church  in  the  South,  255. 

Universalist,  Universalists,  66,  71,  87. 

Universities,  235,  289,  307,  308,  332, 
336;  and  colleges,  influence  of,  315; 
responsibility  of,  for  religious  edu- 
cation, 308,  313;  ways  in  which  this 
can  be  discharged,  313-316;  see  also 
Colleges. 

University  of  Chicago,  232,  316,  319, 
320,  325. 

University  of  Iowa,  311. 

University  of  Michigan,  311. 

University  of  Missouri,  311. 

University  of  Texas,  50,  311. 

University  Place  Church,  18. 

University  preaching,  313;  affiliation, 
318 

Utah,'  240. 


Vacation  Bible  Schools,  280. 

Variation,  limits  of  legitimate,  in  the 
Church.    182-186. 

Vatican  Council,  174. 

Vermont,  210. 

Vocational  diplomas,  321. 

Volunteer  lay  workers,  need  of  train- 
ing for,  315. 

Virginia,  64,  72,  83,  320. 


378 


INDEX 


Wages,  38. 

War,  3,  47,  345;  and  religion,  16;  as 
an  educational  influence,  48;  work 
51 ;    effect    upon    Christianity,    51 
different    attitudes    toward,    92-93 
work  of  the  Church,  92-113;  differ- 
ent  estimates    of,   92-93;    influence 
of,  upon  the  Church,  101-102,  114 
attitude    of    pacifists    toward,    160 
as  an  example  of  compromise,  161 
effect  upon  the  Christian  Associa- 
tions, 245. 

War  Camp  Community  Service,  96, 
102. 

War  Commissions,  95,  101. 

War  Department,  272. 

Ward,  Harry  F.,  89. 

Washburn,  George,  88. 

Washington,  103,  107. 

Washington,  State  of,  333. 

Washington  Committee  on  Army 
and  Navy  Chaplains,  100,  106,  261. 

Waste  of  American  life,  333;  in  the 
spiritual  realm,  333. 

Wayne  County,  218. 

Welch,  64. 

Welch  Calvinistic  Methodist  Church, 
256. 

Wells,  H.  G.,  337. 

Wesley,  73,  85,  188. 

Wesley  Foundation,  311. 

Western  Christianity,  52. 

Western  civilization,  51. 

Western  leadership,  effect  of  war  on, 
51. 

Westminster  Confession,  84. 

White,  Frank,  80. 

Whitfield,  220. 

Willett,  Herbert  L.,  243. 

Williams,  Michael,  94,  181. 

Williams  College,  47,  315. 

Williams  College  School  of  Politics, 
315. 

Wilson,  Elizabeth,  244. 

Wilson,  President,  47,  58. 

Wisconsin,  311. 

Woman  as  home  maker,  30. 

Women  and  the  church,  28,  29;  as 
local  preachers,  30;  enfranchise- 
ment of,  50;  in  India,  50;  in  China, 
50;  place  of  in  the  American 
Church,  78;  ministry  of,  82,  222; 
see  also  American  women. 

Women's  boards  of  home  and  foreign 
missions,  29,  234;  organization  and 
function  of,  237. 

Women's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  242. 


Work  among  foreign-bom  Ameri- 
cans,  227. 

Workingmen  and  the  Church,  154. 

World  Alliance  for  International 
Friendship  through  the  Churches, 
103,  274;  cooperation  of  Roman 
Catholics  and  Jews  with  Protest- 
ants in,  272. 

World   Conference   of   1910,  235. 

World  Conference  of  Methodists,  273. 

World  Conference  on  Faith  and 
Order,  258. 

World  organization,  different  theories 
of,  350. 

World  Student  Federation,  274. 

World's  Sunday  School  Association, 
240,  241. 

Worship,  21,  189,  295,  305,  317;  im- 
portance of,  295. 

Yajima,  Madame,  50. 

Yale,  314,  316,  318,  320,  325. 

Yale  Convocation,  314. 

Year  Book  of  the  Federal  Council, 
66,  69. 

Yiddish,  69. 

Young,  China,  53. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
16,  17,  91,  94,  95,  106,  108,  110,  146, 
164,  186,  223,  226,  242,  243,  254,  280, 
311,  313,  316,  323,  324;  Interna- 
tional Committee  of  the,  103,  250; 
work  in  smaller  communities,  236; 
history  of,  243;  work  of,  243,  244; 
policy  of  with  reference  to  women, 
246;  College  at  Springfield,  324; 
College  at  Chicago  and  Lake 
Geneva,  324;  see  also  Associations 
and  Christian  Associations. 

Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, 24,  91,  95,  186,  223,  238,  242, 
244,  254,  280,  311,  313,  316,  323,  324; 
National  Board  of  the,  103,  250; 
history  of,  244;  extension  of  work 
of,  244;  relation  to  churches,  244; 
Bible  class  work  of  Association, 
244;  pioneer  work  done  by,  245; 
policy  of  with  reference  to  men, 
246;  work  in  smaller  communities, 
246;  see  also  Associations  and 
Christian  Associations. 

Young  People's  Society  of  Christian 
Endeavor,  242. 

Zangwill,  Israel,  48,  54. 
Zionist  movement,  50. 
Zone  of  agreement,  164. 


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AA    000  810  103    2 


